It should not be part of the human condition to be buried under a landslide of mud triggered by heavy rains and exacerbated by excessive irrigation. Seasonal rains occur -- even in such arid regions as the small coastal town of La Conchita, in Ventura County, California, just south of Santa Barbara.

But such disasters as this too often occur because of human action and inaction brought about by the desire for financial profit, higher taxation, and/or political gain. And therein lies the readily foreseeable cause for the deaths of ten innocents.

Ten people and 12 homes were lost beneath a wall of debris from a collapsing slope above. This was not an "act of God." Home construction and orchard development on the plateau above La Conchita should never have been allowed. These activities in a high-risk environment most certainly caused an increased instability to the steep slope. A group of La Conchita residents was in court only last year to stop development on that slope and the ridge above. The judge ruled against them. Experts agree that steep slopes made of volcanic soil are unstable. Geologists know this. Planners know this.

It is not an "act of God" when politicians ignore a long history of landslides in that exact spot and then act surprised when the hill collapses, triggered by the latest in the wave of powerful rainstorms that have saturated the Southern California terrain.

The landslide didn't kill those families: In my opinion, the actions and inactions of those county politicians and judges murdered those 10 innocents.

In the case of La Conchita, where very large naturally-occurring landslides are frequently triggered by heavy rains and earthquakes, the only realistic solution is to carefully site towns in relation to the landslide so that they are not located near the path of a potential slide - realizing that a six-hundred-foot high hill can give way to six thousand-foot landslide run-out. One strong vibrating earthquake during rainy season can easily turn the hills of La Conchita into a watery grave of mud that surges far into the ocean.

In March 1995, some 600,000 tons of earth fell onto the town during another powerful storm. Angry homeowners sued a bluff-top ranch owner they accused of weakening the bluff by over-watering avocado groves. An avocado grove of one-thousand trees needs 9 millions gallons of water each year. This massive amount of water seeps though the 600 foot high hill, keeping it constantly sodden. When the relentless rains finally come the ground turns into a swamp that can no longer hold together.

Two years after they were sued for over-watering, the La Conchita Ranch Co. settled the suit for an undisclosed amount.

The landslide had also been the subject of a high-profile battle waged between county officials and local residents, who charged that the hillside had been weakened by recent residential developments. The county eventually put up a cosmetic $400,000 retaining wall.

Landslide risks are often mitigated by initiating standard geological solutions, such as extensive drainage, catchment nets, slope-stabilizing vegetation and lots and lots of pumps. But the county decided to do none of this. This inaction on the part of the county officials caused the murder of ten people.

The county's cosmetic wall collapsed immediately under the January 2005 landslide, but the smiling officials we saw on TV standing next to Governor Schwartzenneger, said it had only been intended to stop slide debris, not debris flow. These terms, to most people, seem identical but the county looks upon it as a loophole whereby they won't be found guilty of murder.

The county did not want to see any of the obvious signs of a pending disaster, though all the signs were glaringly visible: La Conchita has a documented history of numerous prior landslides. In addition, this small seaside community along Highway 101 north of Santa Barbara has the fastest tectonic uplifting areas in the world. Yet the politicians swear they had no idea it would happen again.

Ventura County Public Works Director Ron Coons said: "I don't think the county is any more responsible than it was for the last slide."