Geological hazards and disasters in Newfoundland and Labrador

A geological disaster occurs when natural geological processes impact on our activities, either through loss of life or injury or through economic loss. A geological hazard is a potential disaster. Geological hazard in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador was studied by archival research using a variety of sources to document the historical record of disaster. This record, although undoubtedly incomplete and selective, demonstrates that the province was affected by numerous geological disasters that inflicted a major economic and social cost. At least 80 people have been killed in Newfoundland and Labrador since 1863 in such incidents, including debris flows, rockfalls, avalanches, and tsunamis. Many Newfoundland communities have developed at the base of steep slopes and are therefore prone to landslides and avalanches or are built adjacent to the coast and are susceptible to storm damage. The economic cost is difficult to estimate, but remedial measures for individual events range from Can$ 20 000 for the construction of 50 m of gabions and retaining walls to Can$ 3 000 000 for community-level coastal flood-protection measures. Many of the documented geological disasters were unavoidable and were the inevitable result of geography. However, some were predictable and therefore preventable, either because a similar event had previously occurred in the same area or because geological factors, such as rapid coastal erosion or rising relative sea levels, were not considered during the planning process. The identification of serious avalanche and rockfall hazards in the Battery, St. John's, has led to installation of protective measures. Archival research methods provide a cheap, effective, and useful means of defining regional geological hazard.