But there is irrefutable evidence, documented over thousands of years of human history, to link logging, flooding and landslides. By this date, the effects of deforestation were already well known. Cypriots, having cut the forested slopes, suffered from increased flooding and mudslides. So much mud accumulated in the Hala Sultan Tekke Harbor that it became sealed off from the sea and could no longer be used as a port. Not one of its 2430 inhabitants survived.
Many recent studies offer further evidence.
The US Forest Service did a study after the 1964 storms which found that the greatest soil loss was from mudflows and landslides, and these occurred more frequently at roads and clearcuts. Many municipal leaders are already experts on this subject. For example, city officials in Portland and Salem have asked that their watersheds not be logged anymore due to economically devastating sedimentation from logging operations. It was immense. Three motorists were knocked off Oregon Hwy 38 by a muddy avalanche - one of them died.