'Slow Avalanche' Bruises Posh SoCal Neighborhood

Roads, multi-million dollar houses ripped up in La Jolla
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 4, 2007 12:36 PM CDT
'Slow Avalanche' Bruises Posh SoCal Neighborhood
In this image taken from video from XETV chunks of a four-lane road are damaged in the La Jolla section of San Diego, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007.The road buckled Wednesday and sank slowly in the hilly upscale neighborhood, threatening several homes. No injuries were reported. (AP Photo/XETV)   (Associated Press)

A landslide 60 yards wide ripped through an affluent San Diego neighborhood yesterday, forcing the evacuation of 111 homes. Chasms up to 20 feet deep opened, and a three-lane road was torn apart. The mayor declared a state of emergency, and aid offers are pouring in from federal and state government; 75 houses are safe to return to, CNN reports.

Only seven people were home during the slide. “Asphalt that should be under my feet was 8 feet in the air,” one said. “We watched the trees snapping and cracking and more boulders come down to our feet.” Officials had warned of shifts. “It’s a geologically bad site,” one said, “and should not have been built on to begin with.” (More San Diego stories.)

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