Taiwan rockslide: 2,000-ton boulder teetering, close to falling

2013-09-29 3

Footage of a 330-ton boulder rolling down a Keelung mountainside in Taiwan during a rainstorm and almost flattening a passing car below went viral. However, most people are unaware of the fact that there is an even bigger rock still teetering on the edge of the mountain, ready to tumble down 150 meters into the 75 or so homes and shops below.

The second boulder weighs about 2,000 tons, which is roughly equivalent to the weight of 200 fully grown African elephants. To prevent the boulder from tumbling down the mountain, experts plan to bore holes into the large rock and inject it with a material that will gradually expand. When this happens, the material will crack and shatter the rock from the inside, breaking it into much more manageable pieces that can be hauled away.

The first boulder came crashing down the mountain on August 31 when heavy rains loosened the dirt underneath the humongous rock.

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