'Slow Avalanche' Bruises Posh SoCal Neighborhood

A landslide 60 yards wide ripped through an affluent San Diego neighborhood yesterday, forcing the evacuation of 111 homes. Chasms up to 20 feet deep opened, and a three-lane road was torn apart. The mayor declared a state of emergency, and aid offers are pouring in from federal and state government; 75 houses are safe to return to, CNN reports.

Only seven people were home during the slide. “Asphalt that should be under my feet was 8 feet in the air,” one said. “We watched the trees snapping and cracking and more boulders come down to our feet.” Officials had warned of shifts. “It’s a geologically bad site,” one said, “and should not have been built on to begin with.” (More San Diego stories.)