Three days after the rupturing of two dams unleashed a massive flood of mud on nearby villages, authorities were still struggling to determine the cause of the disaster or even recover the bodies of as many as 28 people lost in the torrent.
Given the toll in lives and money, scientists like Dr. Staley and Dr. Kean are studying how and when slides happen — what characteristics of soil and underlying rock, what degree of slope and intensity of rainfall will cause a hillside to fail or a flood of mud to roar down a canyon, demolishing houses or whatever else is in its path.
In response, Atwater's team observed that there is substantial evidence for multiple large floods, including evidence of mud cracks and animal burrows in lower layers of the Touchet beds, which were filled by sediment from later floods.
With a highly alkaline pH of 13, the same as lye, the flood of red mud killed 7 people, sent more than 100 to the hospital with chemical burns and rendered dozens, if not hundreds, of homes uninhabitable.
And in a roughly animated video by Nathalie Djurberg called "My Name Is Mud," a greedy, evil blob of mud floods a town and swallows up a cow.
Fear of disease In many areas of Jakarta, the floods left behind layers of mud and garbage.
When that creates a flood and a lot of mud, Pete concretes everything over.
A month after the floods that sent a wall of mud and vehicles blasting through the streets, many houses are still filled with muck up to the first floor.
Mr. Adjibadé, who attributed the rare storm to the effects of climate change, said much of the damage was done because the region is unused to flooding; its houses are constructed of mud, which washed away in the deluge.
Who goes there: Outdoorsy types, undaunted by the prospect of mud and flooding.
