Lemieux, Ontario - Landslide

Landslide

On June 20, 1993, two years after Lemieux was abandoned, heavy rains caused a retrogressive earthflow which destroyed 17 hectares of farmland at the edge of the town site. The scarp retreated 680 m (2,230 ft) from the riverbank in less than an hour and left a crater some 320 meters (1,050 ft) wide and 18 m (59 ft) deep. An estimated 2.8 to 3.5 million cubic metres of sand, silt and liquefied clay collapsed into the river, damming it for 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi) for several days.

A portion of Prescott and Russell County Road 16, beyond the outskirts of the original town, was consumed by the landslide with the balance being farmland. Ironically, the event occurred well beyond where the town buildings and houses had once stood.

There were no fatalities but a local man, Steve Washam, was driving along Country Road 16 soon after the slide occurred. He and his truck fell into the crater, Washam having broken several bones in the crash, was rescued a short time after.