Rock Slides in Qadas-Taiz Continue to Cause Concern [Archives:2001/22/Local News]

archive
May 28 2001

The sliding of basaltic rocks by gravity, floods and the explosions carried out by people in many quarries are likely to be the main reasons for chasms and cracks in Al-Fala mountain in Qadas, said a Yemeni team of geologists who visited the area. Dr. Thamer Al-Shammary, Professor of Geology in Taiz University, and one of the team members, added “When the soil, which is a combination of rocks, sand and clays, absorbs water from floods, it becomes brittle and can slide downwards because of gravity and the mountain’s height.
To avoid such incidents, Dr. Thamer said,people must stop cutting down trees. He also suggested, as a swift solution, to make a cement cover for the lower layers. Abdulaleem Ahmad Al-Qadhi, a demonstrator at the Department of Geology in Taiz University suggested an immediate halt to the quarries, digging channels for water to prevent its leakage into the chasms and for making supportive layers.

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