AN Australian landslide last made headlines in 1997 when 18 people died at
the Thredbo ski resort in southern New South Wales. But less dramatic examples
occur every year.
Though Australians think they live in a relatively stable country, a recent
report by the Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO) points out that
since the mid-19th century landslides have killed more than 80 people in
Australia and injured many others. They have also ruined or destroyed more than
200 buildings and caused millions of dollars of damage to transport
infrastructure. So the problem deserves more public attention.
Australia may be the driest inhabited continent, but the coastal strip
recieves enough heavy rain for that to be a major trigger of landslides.
Rainfall reduces the strength of soil and adds the pressure of water to the
weight of large rocks. This is a particular problem in the wet tropics. One
event in the Cairns area was the result of 70 centimetres of rain in five hours.
At various points along the Captain Cook Highway, up to three metres of debris
piled up, and boulders metres in diameter rolled into the ocean. Less dramatic
landslides are often caused when tropical cyclones hit the coast.
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So AGSO has carried out a detailed risk analysis for the area around Cairns.
Some housing developments in the path of possible landslides have been
identified as enough at risk to recommend residents have evacuation plans ready
in case of heavy rainfall. The study also found that water supply pipelines,
main roads and railways were likely to be cut.
The AGSO report invites the public to contribute to the growing database on
landslides. Logging on to www.agso.gov.au, and following the prompts to
geohazards and landslides, provides access to the existing knowledge base. If
you have witnessed a landslide, however minor, you can add relevant
data鈥攁nd be recognised by AGSO as a Landslide Spotter.
THERE is an air of celebration at the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology, which
have been fighting a bitter struggle against the Australian government鈥檚 policy
of 鈥渙ut-sourcing鈥� computing resources (Antipodes, 9 September, 2000). As part of
the fall-out from the damning conclusions of the report on the project by
Australian Stock Exchange managing director Richard Humphry, science agencies
have now been told they will only have to jettison their in-house computing
expertise if their chief executives are convinced of the benefits of doing so. I
don鈥檛 think that is likely to happen.
HEALTH messages based on good science can achieve significant benefits. That
is the conclusion of a five-year programme in Western Australia, reported in the
latest issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health by
Elizabeth Milne and her colleagues. The 鈥淜idskin鈥� campaign gave young
schoolchildren extensive education on the dangers of skin cancer. It is a
serious issue, as melanoma is the third most common form of cancer in Australian
women and the fourth most common among men.
The aim was to encourage children to reduce their exposure to damaging
ultra-violet light by staying indoors in the middle of the day and using
protection measures such as hats, sunscreen and shady places when outdoors.
Materials were posted to the children during their summer holidays and
protective swimwear was made available at low cost. The research team compared
the behaviour of the children they targeted with a control group who received
only the standard school health curriculum.
Sure enough, those in the intervention group exposed themselves to the sun
significantly less than the controls. This was confirmed both by the parents鈥�
record of what the children did鈥攚earing hats, using sunscreen, wearing
protective swimwear鈥攁nd by measurements of the tanning of the children鈥檚
skin. I hope this sort of intervention will spread to other places.
IT IS well known that humans who exercise are healthier. So I was fascinated
to read of a study by Massey University researchers among a sample of 202 local
cats. Those that lived in houses where there were also dogs were significantly
less likely to be overweight. The conclusion was that the cats living with dogs
were more active鈥攁nd they also might also have been getting less food in
competition with their canine cohabitants. Less food, more exercise鈥攖he
recipe seems to work for cats as well as for humans.