National Landslide Preparedness Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1261, the ``National Landslide Preparedness Act.''

H.R. 1261 establishes a national program to identify and reduce losses from landslide hazards and a national 3D Elevation Program.

The bill also authorizes a study of ground subsidence.

Climate change charges us with the responsibility to study significant landslide threats to mitigate damages and protect our citizens.

The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), authorized under H.R. 1261, systematically collects 3D elevation data in the form of light detection and ranging (lidar) data for the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories, with data acquired over an 8-year period.

Mr. Speaker, due to global warming, high river levels provoke floods and landslides, which block roads and hinder people from escaping life- threatening situations.

More than 30,000 people worldwide were killed by landslides between 2004 and 2010, according to the Geological Society of America.

And in the U.S. between 25 and 50 people are killed by landslides every year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Slides can occur in all 50 states, but regions like the Appalachian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coastal Ranges have ``severe landslide problems,'' according to the USGS.

Mother Nature is unpredictable and can endanger our constituents' lives and homes if advanced warning procedures are not established.

Continued wet weather has also resulted in rivers reaching increasingly dangerous levels.

As of 25 February, National Weather Service data showed over 250 rivers in the Midwest, South and East to be above flood stage.

In February 2019, one person died in flash flooding in Tennessee after a storm system was caused by a landslide brought on by record- breaking rain to the Nashville area.

The Cincinnati metropolitan area is another region that faces constant threats of landslides.

It sits in part on what's called the Kope shale formation, which breaks down easily and is highly prone to landslides.

In 2010, the Cincinnati metro area faced landslides that wrecked properties and caused damages that were difficult to assess.

Losses from landslides in the United States were estimated in 1980 to exceed $1 billion per year.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated annual losses to be between $2 billion and $4 billion per year.

However, landslide costs across the country are not currently tracked or measured in a uniform way by any one agency.

Passage of H.R. 1261 will result in the:

publication of a national strategy for landslide hazards, risk reduction, and response in the United States (including territories);

Development and maintenance of a publicly accessible national landslide hazard and risk inventory database;

an expanded early warning system for debris flow; and

the establishment of emergency response procedures for the rapid deployment of federal scientists, equipment, and services to areas impacted by a significant landslide event.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1261 incentivizes geologic investigations, good engineering practices, and effective enforcement of land-use management regulations to reduce landslide hazards.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1261 to establish and strengthen the nation's emergency preparedness procedures to assess and evaluate landslide damages and threats.

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