Report No. : GEO Report No. 184

Report Title : Review of Landslides in 2003 (2006), 46 p.

Author : T.H.H. Hui, A.F.H. Ng & H.W. Sun

Abstract

This report presents the findings of a detailed diagnostic review of landslides in 2003 that were reported to the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department. The diagnosis forms part of GEO's systematic landslide investigation programme, which was introduced following the 23 July 1994 Kwun Lung Lau landslide. The aims of this report are to review the performance of the Government's slope safety system and identify areas for improvement in order to further enhance the slope engineering practice in Hong Kong.

Altogether 201 genuine landslides were reported to the Government in 2003. All the available landslide data were examined and 21 landslide incidents were selected for follow-up study under the landslide investigation programme. These studies provided information and insight into the types and mechanisms of landslides and facilitated the identification of areas deserving attention and improvement.

Based on the landslide data in 2003, the annual failure rate in terms of major landslides (viz. failure volume of 50 m³ or above) on engineered man-made slopes that have been accepted under the slope safety system is about 0.005% on a slope number basis (i.e. the number of landslides relative to the total number of slopes of this category). The corresponding annual failure rate in terms of minor landslides (viz. failure volume of less than 50 m³) on engineered man-made slopes is about 0.048% on a slope number basis.

Overall, about 99.95% of the engineered man-made slopes performed satisfactorily without occurrence of any reported landslides in 2003.

Recommendations for further improvement of the slope safety system and the slope engineering practice in Hong Kong are given in this report.

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