Western North Carolina Landslides

Hazard Map Reveals Haywood County Real Estate Landslide Risks

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Mon, 08/09/2010 - 9:26pm

Western North Carolina Landslide Hazard Maps

February 2005 marks the month and year that the state acknowledged the fact that Western North Carolina landslide hazard maps were pre-development necessities for 19 high-risk counties. Hazardous-land identification became a concern after the September 2004 Western North Carolina landslide disasters.

With the passage of the Hurricane Recovery Act, legislators found:

Further...people could not know the landslide risks associated with their housing location because such maps are not readily available. The state needs to...prepare landslide mapping for the region so that homes may be built in safe areas.

History of Western North Carolina Landslide Mapping Program

Western North Carolina Landslide Maps Ruled Material Facts

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 7:52pm

North Carolina Real Estate Commission

In a recent article the Macon County News reported that Realtors and developers conducting business in landslide-mapped counties must reference hazard maps on property listings and in sales contracts. According to the newspaper, the North Carolina Real Estate commission has determined that landslide maps are material facts for sales transactions in Buncombe, Macon and Watauga Counties.

The North Carolina Real Estate Commission has not posted this ruling so there are unanswered questions. When asked for specifics re the Macon County article, the Commission's spokeman responded, "all material facts must be disclosed."

Ghost Town in the Sky landslide: Is the Town of Maggie Valley guilty of reckless endangerment?

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Sun, 02/28/2010 - 9:23pm

The February 5, 2010 Ghost Town in the Sky landslide is the latest example of harm caused by government negligence. Haywood County commissioners, the Town of Maggie Valley aldermen and their respective planning boards were dutifully notified twelve years ago that land under their jurisdiction was highly unstable.

Maggie Valley/Haywood County Real Estate Landslide Losses

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 4:49pm
So you have fallen in love with Maggie Valley, and you’re ready to buy or build your mountain dream home. How do you choose? The answer is: carefully.

What you don’t know and what your realtor isn't required to tell you is that landslides have caused and will continue to result in catastrophic property losses in Maggie Valley and throughout the county. Sometimes they are deadly.

Property values in Wild Acres and in other Haywood County mountain developments will be adversely affected by media reporting of two tragic events: one old, the other recent. Geologic hazards that were rarely discussed are now in the headlines.

Wild Acres

Haywood County Fails to Protect Homeowners from Landslide

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Thu, 01/15/2009 - 6:32am

Tragedy always stirs the media and occasionally awakens dozing regulators.

The recent tragedy: a 300 foot-landslide that flattened a three story Maggie Valley, North Carolina residence on Wildcat Run Road. Bruce and Lorraine Donin, who were at home, survived. Rick Wooten, a senior geologist for the N.C. Geological Survey who investigated the site, said “It wasn’t so much that the house that was destroyed was located on a steep slope, it just got hit by a landslide that would have knocked any house over that wasn’t bombproof.”

Is the County Responsible for the Donins’ Property Loss?

Questions Concerning The Cliffs at High Carolina Property Report

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Sun, 01/11/2009 - 7:13pm

The Cliffs at High Carolina Engineering Report

Cliffs Communities, Inc., developer of The Cliffs at High Carolina, disclosed in their October 21, 2008 subdivision Property Report that all of the ninety-nine (99) single-family building lots offered for sale on November 8, 2008 were evaluated by S&ME, Inc., a Raleigh-based engineering firm, for the possible presence of colluvium materials.

The High Carolina Property Report Hazards section states that:

Sprinkler Systems Should be Banned on Western North Carolina Mountain Slopes

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Fri, 01/02/2009 - 5:32pm

Authorities cannot control rainfall, a natural occurrence and the most frequent cause of slope failures, but they can provide a measure of protection by outlawing the use of sprinkler systems on steep slopes.

These are the lessons that North Carolina regulators can learn from a recent landslide in Portland, Oregon. Although not conclusive, numerous investigations indicate that this multi-property financially-devastating tragedy was precipitated by the use or perhaps overuse of a sprinkler system on the part of an uninformed homeowner.

The Cliffs at High Carolina not Mapped for Landslides

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Sun, 12/28/2008 - 1:11pm

Federal Disaster Declarations Result in Landslide Hazard Studies

In September 2004 fifteen Western North Carolina counties were in a state of emergency after rain-initiated landslides caused loss of life and catastrophic damage. To fulfill federal hazard mitigation requirements, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized a 19 county landslide mapping program in February 2005. Governor Mike Easley stated in an October 2006 press release that

Buncombe County Commissioners Facilitate Hazardous Land Development

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 7:59pm

When Did They Know?

Buncombe County officials were notified in August 2004 that the mountain land under their jurisdiction was geologically hazardous. This was not the first hazard designation for the county.

No State Rule Book for Hazardous Land Development

Submitted by Lynne Vogel on Thu, 11/20/2008 - 8:13pm

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