Landslide
Bainbridge Island is subject to landslides and soil erosion due to wind, water, and flooding anytime throughout the year. Landslides can cause deaths, significant damage to properties and infrastructure, and in some cases, losses of the use of land for many years due to the extensive cost of restoration. Earthquakes also have the potential to trigger landslides.
Landslide occurrences on the island have been concentrated along its coastal bluffs. Several landslides were triggered by storms throughout the winter of 1996-1997. One of these storm events caused a landslide in the Rolling Bay area, which forced a house off its foundation and down a hill into Puget Sound. Several other landslides severely damage homes, roads, and utilities along the bluffs of Bainbridge Island. One of these events resulted in the death of a family of four and destroyed millions of dollars of both public and private property. This deadly landslide demonstrates the unpredictability and destructiveness of landslides on Bainbridge Island. The scar of the slide was nearly 15 meters wide and 15 to 20 meters high. While assessing the damage from this incident, the USGS also observed numerous other scars from many previous landslides that occurred on the steep bluffs of Bainbridge Island.
Bainbridge Island contains a significant number of buildings that are exposed to the effects of landslides.
The most current landslide risk data for Bainbridge Island can be downloaded here.
Image depicting 1997 Rolling Bay area landslide.
Sources:
Kitsap County Risk Report, Kitsap County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, City of Seattle Office of Emergency Management