Report on El Salvador earthquakes finds mudslides cut vital infrastructure

The American Society of Civil Engineers has published a report on the two earthquakes that devastated El Salvador in January and February 2001.
The first earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6 and the second a magnitude of 6.6. Together they caused catastrophic damage estimated at $1.6 billion.
The report looks at what critical “lifelines” were damaged, and found that the major disruptions were due to landslides that forced the closure of the major PanAmerican Highway and the route to the International airport. The landslides broke power and communication lines, as well as closing water supply systems.
The findings of the Technological Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering of the ASCE are contained in the report.
See www.pubs.asce.org