MODULE NO. 4 KMA PROJECT REPORTS

CASE STUDY TO EXPLAIN MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL HAZARDS:

DEBRIS FLOWS AND MUD FLOWS TRIGGERED BY THE RAINFALL OF 3 - 4 JANUARY 1998 IN THE FELLOWSHIP AREA, RIO GRANDE VALLEY, JAMAICA.

The field work was carried out on 5th January 1998, and was followed by aerial photo-interpretation.

INTRODUCTION:
Location map, overhead
A catastrophic rainstorm in the parish of Portland on January 3-4, 1998, dropped as much as 149 mm(~ 6 inches) of rain within a period of about 24 hours, triggering landslides and floods throughout the district of Fellowship.

STORM EFFECTS:
1. More than 160 landslides were reported; 63 in the West Town drainage basin; and 96 in the Rio Grande drainage basin (Natural Resources Conservation Authority, NRCA, 1998).
Slides induced by the storm transformed into debris flows that swept down hillslopes or 1st and 2nd order drainage with little or no warning. Breastworks, Fellowship, Berridale, Newington, and Toms Hope areas were severely affected.