WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — To understand the dance between landslides and flash flooding, we first have to know what a landslide is.

A landslide is the movement of rock, earth, or debris down a sloped section of land. They can be caused by rain, earthquakes, volcanoes, or any activity that makes the slope unstable.

Landslides typically have three causes: geology, morphology, and human activity.

Geology refers to the characteristics of the earth or rock. It may have become weak or fractured, or different layers could have differing strengths and stiffness.

Morphology

Morphology zeroes in on structure. The best example of this is erosion, or weakening of earth due to water, which is often caused by flooding due to heavy rain. Even sometimes rapidly melting snow.

Loss of vegetation – due to

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