The Landslide Blog is written by Dave Petley, who is widely recognized as a world leader in the study and management of landslides.
On 3 August 2024 an unusual and tragic landslide occurred at close to Cooktown in Queensland, Australia. Reports indicate that a man on vacation in the area was fishing on a riverbank close to the Annan River Bridge when the slope collapsed, pitching him into the river.
The site at which this accident occurred is known locally as Crocodile Bend due to the presence of a c. 5 metre long crocodile in the area. Tragically, the victim was attacked and killed by the animal.
The location is reported to be at about [-15.51513, 145.22130], as seen in the Google Earth image below:-
Google Earth image showing the approximate location of the riverbank collapse at Crocodile Bend, near to Cooktown in Australia.
Local reports indicate that the riverbank was about 8 m high, but had been suffering toe erosion in recent years. It was considered to be a dangerous place in which to fish.
I have been writing about landslides for over 20 years on this blog, but I have not come across one like this before. It is a deeply tragic event.
Acknowledgement
Many thanks to Martin Brook of the University of Auckland for highlighting this event to me.
Text © 2023. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.
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