po shan road landslide case study

Proceedings of The Hong Kong Engineers Engineering for Public Safety Conference, HKIE April 1997

Managing Slope Safety in a High Density City Prone to Landslips

by Dr Andrew Malone Geotechnical Engineering Office

Hong Kong's terrain and climate make the territory very prone to landslips and significant risk has been created through the post-war urban development of its steep hillsides. However, progressively, the government has introduced slope safety measures over the last 30 years.

Today, Hong Kong has a well developed slope safety system aimed at reducing risk and addressing public attitudes to risk. The system is managed by the Geotechnical Engineering Office. The aims are to be achieved through the setting of safety standards, policing actions, providing public educational and information services and the management of upgrading works programmes for old man-made slopes in private and public ownership.

The purpose of this paper is to outline Hong Kong's slope safety system and evaluate its effectiveness in lay terms.

Figure 1. Landslip fatalities.

Hong Kong's landslip problem

Landslips have been responsible for the death of more than 470 people in Hong Kong since 1948 (Figure 1). Although landslips are common on undeveloped natural hillsides, nearly all of these deaths result from the collapse of man-made slopes, i.e. cut slopes, fill slopes and retaining walls created by the process of hillside development. There is evidence from analysis of fatal landslips that the origin of a significant portion of Hong Kong's landslip risk lies in the nature of hillside development works in the post-war decades, along with lack of adequate subsequent maintenance (Hong Kong Government, 1972a, 1972b and 1977; Geotechnical Engineering Office 1993a, 1993b, 1994, 1996a and 1996b, Chan et al., 1996).

Creation of a policing body

The two most destructive landslips in the recent history of Hong Kong took place on 18 June 1972, the third day of a severe rainstorm associated with a trough of low pressure. Shortly after 1 pm, a major landslip occurred in the Sau Mau Ping Resettlement Estate in the Kowloon foothills. The failure involved the collapse of the side-slope of a 40 m-high road embankment constructed on sloping ground. The resulting flowslide destroyed many huts in a licensed temporary housing area, killing 71 people and injuring 60 others (Hong Kong Government, 1972a). Hours later, another major landslip occurred, in a private residential district on a steep hillside Lit Po Shan Road in the Mid-levels area of Hong Kong Island. Sixty-seven people were killed and 20 injured when an Occupied 12-storey private apartment building was demolished under the impact of an extremely rapid flowslide (Hong Kong Government 1972b). The landslip, illustrated in Figure 2, was initiated on the hillside above by the collapse of a steep cutting in a works site for a private building.

Figure 2. The landslip at Po Shan Road, Hong Kong Island which occurred on 18 June 1972.

A commission of enquiry, set up amidst the ensuing public outcry, reported in August and by the end of the year a group of civil engineers had been assigned to the building control office to vet the geotechnical aspects of private development submissions.

Four years later another destructive landslip occurred in the Sau Mau Ping Resettlement Estate, on the morning of 25 August 1976 following heavy rainfall associated with a Severe Tropical Storm. At least four landslides took place in the estate resulting from the collapse of the side-slopes of highway embankments formed of earth fill. Three of these turned into flowslides, the most hazardous occurring on the face of a 35 m-high embankment above an occupied public housing block. The debris moved downwards as 'a large sheet' until arrested by the building, the ground floor rooms of which were inundated by fluid mud, trapping many occupants; eighteen people were killed and 24 seriously injured. Subsequent investigation found that the collapse had occurred because the earth fill forming the face of the slope was in a loose condition, having been placed by end-tipping without compaction, contrary to good practice (Hong Kong Government, 1977). The 1976 Sau Mau Ping landslip brought the number of landslip fatalities in a four year period to greater than 175 (Figure 1). Immediately after the landslip the Governor established an Independent Review Panel on Fill Slopes, comprised largely of overseas geotechnical experts, which recommended the creation of a central policing body to regulate the whole process of investigation, design, construction, monitoring and maintenance of slopes in Hong Kong.

The geotechnical control body, created in July 1977, has since evolved in response to experience and through reform initiatives (Malone & Ho, 1994) and today, Hong Kong has a well-developed slope safety regime. The GEO manages the safety regime, which will be referred to as the 'Slope Safety System'. The aims are twofold: to reduce risk and to address public attitudes to risk. Along with GEO as safety manager, the main action parties in respect of slope safety are the private owners and government agencies that are responsible for the construction of slopes and the maintenance of their stability.

The Slope Safety System

To recap, post-war site formation and subsequent maintenance by private owners and Government departments went largely unregulated before the creation of the civil engineering unit in the building control office in 1972 and then the central policing body in 1977. By this date a very large amount of development had already taken place on hillslopes. Some of the developments constructed on hillslopes during the unregulated period turned out to contain design, construction or maintenance defects, when judged on modem standards, causing failure with attendant harm and damage.

Therefore, when the policing body was established it was given two main duties; to establish a control regime for new works on hillslopes, to prevent any increase in risk due to new works, and to be the manager of a slope retrofit programme, under which substandard works of the past would be brought up to modem standards by their owners, with a corresponding reduction in risk. These duties remain the major elements of GEO's work in terms of resources deployed. GEO took on new tasks in the 1980s with the introduction of squatter safety clearances and in the 1990s with its educational initiatives, initially targeted at slope owners to promote good maintenance practice. Today GEO's slope safety functions are fourfold: policing slope safety, setting safety standards and research, carrying out works projects and providing educational and information services. The contribution which each of these components makes towards the two aims of the Slope Safety System (reducing risk and addressing public attitudes) is illustrated in Table 1.

Table 1. The Slope Safety System

Evaluation of the Slope Safety System to date

To evaluate the Slope Safety System to date it is necessary to begin by examining evidence of change in global landslip risk (i.e. landslip risk for the entire territory) in the last 20 years and then to go on to examine, if possible, the efficiency and effectiveness of the component parts of the system.

If landslip risk has been reduced by the Slope Safety System, the trend depicted in Figure 3 ought to be apparent. This trend is based on the premise that risk grew broadly in proportion to population until arrested by the intervention of the Slope Safety System. It is postulated that without the Slope Safety System, landslip risk would have continued to increase with continuing growth in population, the encroachment of development onto steeper terrain, the increase in the number of man-made features and their deterioration due to lack of maintenance.

Figure 3. Hypothetical risk trend.

To measure change in risk with time, quantified risk analyses (QRAs) must be carried out for different times and this work has not yet been done. Evaluation will therefore have to rely for the present on indication of risk rather than calculation of risk by QRA.

A reducing trend with time in the amount of harm and damage occurring annually due to landslips, when normalized for rainfall, would be a prima facie indication of a reduction in risk. Trends in data can be revealed by plotting rolling averages (i.e. moving averages) and this technique is adopted here, using a 15- year datum period after trying several other periods. The plots in Figures 4 and 5 utilize landslip fatality data for the whole territory and rainfall data from the Royal Observatory Tsim Sha Tsui gauge. The past 15-year rolling averages of annual number of landslip fatalities are given in Figure 4. In an attempt to discern trends in rainfall the 15-year rolling averages of the annual number of heavy rainfall events, defined as 24-hour rainfall greater than 175 mm (Figure 5), and the 15-year rolling average annual rainfall are also plotted (Figure 5). The former criterion is chosen because the occurrence of 175 mm of rain in 24 hours at Tsim Sha Tsui is the main Landslip Warning criterion and the data is readily available.

Figure 4. Past 15-year rolling average of annual number of landslip fatalities.

Figure 5. Rainfall trends.

The trend in 15-year rolling annual fatalities resembles that shown in Figure 3 but there is no corresponding reduction in annual rainfall or the number of heavy rainfall events. This finding may be interpreted as indicating a reduction in risk. Another indication of reduction in risk would be any reducing trend in territorial landslip fatality rate with increasing territorial population. The data are plotted in Figure 6. The trends evident in Figures 4 and 6 provide prima facie evidence of significant risk reduction since the end of the 1970s.

Figure 6. Trend of fatalities with population growth.

In evaluating the efficiency of the Slope Safety System as a whole in terms of outcome, the fundamental question is 'is Hong Kong getting value for money in terms of cost/benefit?'

Projecting forward the fatality rate trend prior to the 1980s it appears that an annual fatality rate (15-year rolling average) of the order of twenty-five fatalities per year might have been reached by 1996. In fact the actual annual fatality rate in 1996 (15-year rolling average) was of the order of three fatalities per year. Taking these figures, attributing the reduction to the Slope Safety System, making assumptions about the 19-year cost of the Slope Safety System and charging its entire cost to saving life only, it is estimated that up to the end of 1996 each life saved has cost about $20 million. This price would probably be regarded as cost-effective by the stakeholders. Judged on the UK Health and Safety Executive's tolerability rationale (commonly known as the ALARP or 'as low as reasonably practical' rationale) $20 million is higher than but not grossly disproportionate to the values of statistical life assumed in risk assessments for technological hazards in Hong Kong current practice. Therefore, purely on the ALARP rationale, the need is indicated for continuing investment in landslip risk reduction in Hong Kong.

Conclusions

The trends indicated in Figures 4 and 6 provide prima facie evidence of significant risk reduction in the past twenty years which may be attributed to the Slope Safety System introduced progressively since the late 1970s. Crude calculations indicate that the risk reduction effort has been cost-effective and should be continued.

Acknowledgements

The paper is published with the permission of the Director of Civil Engineering of the Hong Kong Government.

1. Chan, Y.C., Pun, W.K., Wong, H.N., Li, A.C.O. & Yeo, K.C. (1996) Investigation of some major slope failures between 1992 and 1995. Geotechnical Engineering Office, Hong Kong, 97 p. (GEO Report No. 52). 2. Geotechnical Engineering Office (1993a) Report on the Rainstorm of May 1982, by M.C. Tang (1993), 129 p. plus 1 drg. (Reprinted, 1995). 3. Geotechnical Engineering Office (1993b) Report on the Rainstorm of August 1982, by R.R. Hudson (1993), 93 p. plus 1 drg. (Reprinted, 1995). 4. Geotechnical Engineering Office (1994) Report on the Kwun Lung Lau Landslide of 23 July 1994, Volume 2: Findings of the Landslide Investigation. Geotechnical Engineering Office, Hong Kong, 379 p. (Chinese version, 358 p). 5. Geotechnical Engineering Office (1996a) Report on the Fei Tsui Road Landslide of 13 August 1995, Volume 2: Findings of the Landslide Investigation. Geotechnical Engineering Office, Hong Kong, 68 p. (Chinese version, 64 p). 6. Geotechnical Engineering Office (1996b) Report on the Shum Wan Road Landslide of 13 August 1995, Volume 2: Findings of the Landslide Investigation. Geotechnical Engineering Office, Hong Kong, 51 p. (Chinese version, 49 p). 7. Hong Kong Government (1972a) Interim Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Rainstorm Disasters, 1972. Hong Kong Government Printer, 22 p. 8. Hong Kong Government (1972b). Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Rainstorm Disasters, 1972. Hong Kong Government Printer, 94 p. (Also published in Chinese, 99 p.) 9. Hong Kong Government (1977). Report on the Slope Failures at Sau Mau Ping, August 1976. Hong Kong Government Printer, 105 p. plus 8 drgs. 10. Malone, A.W. & Ho, K.K.S. (1995). Learning from Landslip Disasters in Hong Kong. Built Environment, 21, no 2/3, 126-144.

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1972 po shan road landslide / kotewall road disaster.

Source: This image came from Flickr, see https://flickr.com/photo.gne?id=2424442049

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Animation of the 1972 Po Shan Landslide

[17 Dec 2013 Update: this link no longer works, but see the Youtube video in the comments below.]

http://hkss.cedd.gov.hk/hkss/eng/download/poshan_incident_english.wmv

HK-TVB Operation Relief

From Steve Kerridge's "Bruce Lee: Legends of the Dragon Vol 2" (Tao Publishing, ISBN:978-0-9557920-2-1)

On the 24th June [1972] , HK-TVB television station broadcast a live fund raising event in aid of the victims of a devastating landslide that occurred the week before on June 18th. The disaster, near Po Shan Road..., resulted in sixty seven fatalities, twenty serious injuries and two buildings completely destroyed. This was the result of unstable ground on a hillside following Typhoon Rose eleven months prior to the fatal incident.

The show, which featured many of HK's celebrities of the time (including Bruce Lee doing demonstrations with the help of a 7 year old Brandon) went on to raise more than $8.5M for the relief fund.

po shan / kotewall road disaster

i remember it rained heavily for about a week - we had major leaks in our flat a 1920s jerry build with buckets dotted all over the place to collect the drops.  in our day the tragedy in the photo was referred to as the 'kotewall road disaster' - made all the more poignant since several school mates lived in the vicinity.  more lives were lost too in kowloon in a shanty town but that seems less documented (less spectacular?) .  spurred on as a direct result of this, one of my friends went on to study geology at uni and became a certified engineer with specialisation in this area of expertise :-)  unfortunately stayed in the uk!

po shan/ kotewall road disaster

  These heavy rains were also partly responsible for the collapse of the Thorpe Manor property forecourt/parking area. This delayed the construction of the existing high rise [ 1 May Road], for a number of years.

1972 618 landslide

I am one of the survivors of the horrific accident that has taken the lives of my loved ones.  Thanks for the animation, I now have a better idea of what happened that night when I lost my whole family (My parents, my brother and 4 sisters)

1972 Kotewall Rd landslide

I recenly recovered the negatives of the photos I took of the landslide scene. I remember very vividly that evening and when the landslide occured. A lound noise, followed by lost of electricity. Emergency vehicles arrived minutes later. We were living in Lyttelton Road, just a block from the scene. Alll we saw was mudy water running down from Kotewall Road. The high-rise residential block at No.12 Kotewall Road vanished. A few days later we too had to evacuate from our flat at Lyttelton Road as there was considerable danger of further landslide.

Link to the album of photos at Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38679411@N07/sets/72157629112220313/

June 1972 Rains and landslides

I do remember this period very well too. I was living at Mansfield Road Government flats- and we were completely cut-off by a massive land-slide which was just above the junction of Peak Road and Magazine Gap Road, just higher than the Barker Road turn off.

All sources of power and gas were swept away! We could only go 'up' the Peak. I spent a day helping some prisoners who had been drafted in to fill sand-bags to try to prevent another hillside from collapsing - just above the petrol station on the right hand side. There was a huge hillside that looked like it might collapse!

After about 3 days 'trapped' in our flat, and seemingly running out of basic supplies, my father announced that he and I were going to embark on a hike into Central! (I think he had cabin fever?) We walked and waded down Magazine Road, past and through 3 or 4 completely collapsed sections of hillside until we reached Central. At some areas we waded through hip deep mud! 

It had stopped raining by this time - by there was carnage in Central - water lying everywhere. I recall seeing cars piled up somewhere? We bought some basic supplies, bread, tinned food etc and began our hike home. We walked back up the Old Peak Road, past the LRC onto Barker Road. My father told me that Old Peak Road was originally built for sedan chairs, and it was in great shape, no debris and no damage from the rains visible.

As we arrived at the top of Guildford Road, before descending to Mansfield Road my father and I saw a helicopter dropping supplies onto the playground where we lived!!! It was an adventure I shall never forget!  

June 1972 Rains and Landslides

The other horrific landslide was at Kai Liu (Chicken Shanty Town) in Kwun Tong.  The whole shanty town was buried by mud.  Many people were killed and injured.  A policeman who arrived at the scene told me that when the patrol car arrived, they could not find the village because it was under the mud.  I remember photos of corpses half-buried, including one of a baby which left indelible impression on my mind.  I remember someone lamented that the desaster hit the rich as well as the poor at the same time.  

I was living at No.30 Severn Road when The Peak was cut off.  I went with my brothers & the driver to help clear the landslide along The Peak Road where residents and some prisoners were already hard at work.  The Deputy CS, Hamilton, was made Officer Administrating the Government on The Peak.  He and his team set up local government at The Peak School. My brother & I were assigned with a desk registering children needing education (or more likely parents concerned about exams!)  There was radio communications with CGO.  The amount of gasolene at the stations above Mansfield Road Apartments were counted.  RAF helicopters delivered supplies at Mansfield Rd as well as the Peak Tram parking lot.  Then Army landrovers came up from Pokfulam Reservoir road with supplies.  A newspaperman delivered a stack walking up Magazine Gap Road and received a round of applause & cheers from the residents when he made it to Barker Road junction.  

Soon, a temproary diversion road was dugged behing the garage of the house of the former Chinese Meritime Custom opposite the US Consul General's residence at Barker Rd.  Back to school again too soon!  

Animation of the 1972 Po Shan Landslide - Broken Link

That link to the CEDD website doesn't seem to work any more. However, this (YouTube) one includes the same information:

Kotewall Road Disaster 1972

I was a serving police inspector living with my wife in Park Road Married Quarters on Sunday 18 June 1972. I was at home off duty and watching the Two Ronnies on TV with my wife, pregnant with our first daughter.

We heard a tremendous noise from up the hill and I called the Upper levels police station who told me that a landslide had occurred. I grabbed my boots, a torch and an anorak and drove and then ran up the hill into Kotewall Road which was blocked near the top by a huge wall of mud.

Police and fire services were present and I reported to a senior fireman and offered assistance which was accepted. Mud and water were still coming down the hill from Conduit and Po Shan Roads but some firemen and I rescued a couple of people near the top of the landslide and rubble heading downhill into Babington Path.

Then we climbed down a rope and searched the rubble. There was a strong smell of gas I recall. Then I heard a feint voice calling out in English, "Help me, I'm dying". I searched and found a hand waving from under some rubble. After 3 hours or so of digging with hands and small implements (anything larger would have brought the whole lot down on us) we exposed an 11 year old English/Dutch boy's arm, head, upper body and then finally slid him free. He was saved by a book case between him and the collapsed concrete ceiling.

I struggled up the rubble with him and handed him on and he spent several weeks in QMH on dialysis but recovered and is now happily married in Canada. Sadly, his mother and brother were killed and his dog was never found.

This incident was caused by corruption. Officials in PWD were paid off by the developers of a building site on Conduit Road to lose a file showing an earth cutting face so that they could lie and claim that there was a rock cutting face at the back of the site. This allowed them to cut back at a far steeper angle to provide more parking spaces and avoid having to put them in the building.

The Commission of Enquiry (report on the Rainstorm Disasters 1972) makes interesting reading. The key Authorised Architect suspect skipped to Singapore and nobody was ever charged with any offence. This individual seems to have redeemed himself, however. He has designed temporary bamboo housing for refugees from disaster and famine. Since then, the HK Government has made a huge effort to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

interesting story

thanks for sharing Guy. Can I ask if that is you in the shorts?

Thanks Guy, that's a

Thanks Guy, that's a remarkable story and photo.

Regards, David

Another hero in the Kotewall Road disaster 1972

My friend, the late Mr Leung Shiu Kay was another hero in the Kotewall Road Disaster in 1972.   He saved the lives of many, including that of Mr Henry Litton in the rescue.  He was awarded the "George Medal" by the Governor.  Mr Leung is well remembered by staff in FSD.

REPORT OF THE INQUIRY INTO THE RAINSTORM DISASTERS 1972

http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/publications/geo_reports/doc/er229/er229link…

Indeed an interesting read - one of the architects involved at one point was the architect for the development of some of the land at 三育中學 in the early 90s.  Small world.

Yes, a much younger me. Note the fireman I was with; he took his boots off to get more grip in the mud...

Re: Firemen's boots (Wellingtons ??)

I have been told those boots are very heavy.  One of my schoolmates (who is a Fire Inspector now) once mentioned they weigh 30 lbs.  I have forgotten if a pair of them weighs 30 lbs or if it was for a single one.  The weight owes very much to the streel toe cap and sole protection.

New recruits would be required to wear these boots and jog around the playground in their Kam Tin training school and not everyone could do that in the first go.

Thanks & Best Regards,

LEUNG Shiu-kay GM & AS Conway CPM(G)

This an email I sent to DFS in 2009:

Dear Mr Lo,

I had occasion during some research at the Public Records Office to access the last list of Honours and Decorations conferred on HK Residents dated 1 July 1996.

It will no doubt surprise and concern you to know that two of your officers who won awards for the Po Shan/Kotewall Road Landslide Disaster of 18 June 1972 are not listed:

Peak Road landslide

Henry Ching mentioned that the Peak Road landslide mentioned by Bails and Lawrence Tsui above may have happened in an earlier rainstorm. I found a description of a landslide in 1966 that seems to match (see  http://gwulo.com/node/18450 ). Does that sound like the right year?

Landslide Disasters, 1972

Sau Ming Landslip Disaster, 1972

If the person writing as a survivor who lost both parents and 5 siblings in Sau Mau Ping, if you can bear to read it, the report and list of casualties is in the Interim Report of the Commission of Inquiry published in August 1972. I am so sorry for your terrible loss and that of everyone else who lost loved ones that awful day.

Photo taken in Government House 1973

Thank you for posting the photo in qwulo.  I recognize that Mr Leung was sitting next to the right hand side of HE the Governor.   Is the man sitting at the far right hand side of the photo the same Fire Officer who was holding the boy in your previous photo?   Correct me if I am wrong.   I trust you are also present in the photo.

regards/Edmond

1966 & 1972 Landslide

Indeed the Peak Road landslides near Manfields Rd happened in 1966, not 1972.  I got confused.  

Which was the one when the section of Peak Road where Bradbury School now stands, near King Yin Lei, was washed off?  That was the one when Mr. C.K. Law, Assistant Director of Education, and his sons perished at Victoria Height. 

Peak Road used to run along a bend behind today's Bradbury School, the site of which was created after the landslide and that section of Peak Road straightened.

Government House, 10 October 1973

Murray MacLehose wispered in my ear somthing like "Join me for a photograph on the lawn after all these other b*****s have gone home." Conway and Moran and others are absent but I think the names are as follows: front row L-R DO CHEUNG Shui-shing?, Terry Berrecloth, HE, Prouse?, PF NG Kam-hung?, SO TSUI Hin-kwing? Back row L_R myself and two firemen. My wife and daughter are watching from the balcony...

Thanks for sharing such an

Thanks for sharing such an incredible story.  The animation of CEDD is absolutely mind-boggling... and gut-wrenching.

Kotewall Road landslide

A subscriber, who wishes to remain anonymous, writes to "add my own words of appreciation":

I too am a survivor of the Kotewall Road landslide 1972.

I shall never forget the size of the rain drops that Sunday evening. The rainfall that weekend was extraordinary but it was the size of the drops that I recall-they were huge. 

I came out of a 10th floor flat and landed just about on the top of the pile. I am alive today only by reason of the courage of the Fire Services officers who released me from the debris trapping me and the skills of the staff at Queen Mary Hospital where I was an in-patient 3 months. 

18th June 1972, the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. 

IDJ has uploaded a couple of

IDJ has uploaded a couple of photos of this area in the early 1960s:

The three-storey building on the right of the lower photo, 53 Conduit Road, is shown in the colour photo at the top of this page, just to the right of the landslip.

The old building to the left of number 53 in this 1960s photo was demolished sometime before the 1972 landslide. In the animation of events in 1972, the site of this old building is described as a building site. It's where the sheet piling is shown distorting over time and eventally collapsing.

IDJ notes that even in this 1960s photo there looks to be a small landslide behind the old building.

Kotewall Road Disaster

The boy in the picture is Neil (or Nils) McDonald.  He and his brother Casper used to come down to our block of flats at 84 Robinson Road (just at the top of Oaklands Avenue which ran into Kotewall Road) to play though we didn't know them THAT well.

My bedroom window looked directly up Kotewall Road. I was lying in bed listening to music and heard this almighty sound - like thunder, but it went on too long to actually BE thunder. Got up and looked out the window, but saw nothing, until I saw a sea of mud rushing down the road. I ran through and told my folks, and we all went downstairs. Our caretaker was comforting some european guy who appeared to be wearing nothing but his underwear and covered in mud.

The Irish Guards that were sent in to dig out survivors/bodies were stationed in our block of flats as it was one of the nearest buildings considered safe. We would take down beers and tea, and would get mars bars in return from the NAAFI van. They taught us a few gambling games too. It was sad and exciting at the same time for a young 13 year old. The scars of Typhoon Rose can still be seen on that hill today.

Well deserved Guy.  I recognise a Facebook friend of mine (Terence Berecolth) front row second from left.  Will pinch this to post on his wall if ok with you.  What was his role?

Response to Tom re McNeil boys

Very late response to Tom. The rescued boy in the picture is Jules McNeil who survived and after weeks in QMH went to British Columbia to join his father and step-brothers and sisters. His younger brother Caspar and his mother Annemaria were killed in the landslide. For a fuller account of this tragedy, read "The Accidental Prawn", available in Bookazine and on Kindle. Thank you for pointing out that Terry Berrecloth is on Facebook. He was a friend of Annemaria's and rushed to the scene as well. He assisted in the rescue at the bottom of the landslide and was awarded a Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct for his actions. We both gave evidence at the Commission of Enquiry before TL Yang who later became Chief Justice.

Jules McNeil

Hello Guy , thanks for your record of this event and the photos. I was a school mate of Jules McNeil (the boy being carried by a fireman in the photo) and Caspar - we were all at Glenealy Junior School on Kennedy Road at the time of this tragic event. I reckon Jules was just completing his Junior schooling, so was a year older than me and Caspar a year or two younger. This would make Jules 10 at the time, known for his BIG flop of blond hair (visible in the photo). As fortune had it his father was away in Canada on business. So it was Jules , his younger brother Caspar and mother Annemaria who were tragically caught up in the landslide at Kotewall Court on 18 th June 1972.

Both Jules and Caspar were very popular and much loved by class mates, teachers and those who knew the family. They were the nicest, happiest people you could ever meet.

I lived with my parents on University Drive , just a short distance from the landslide location. Although my personal memories of this event are raw, even to this day, I have vivid memories of the night. As others have said, there was a dreadful rumbling noise. I leapt out onto our balcony overlooking the Harbour - as many curious youngsters, with no sense of fear are inclined to do. Apart from the rumble, strong winds and lashing rain, the usual noise of vehicles and human activity were remarkably absent. I looked to my right in the direction of this awful crescendo - at the time not really knowing what I was hearing or seeing - the electric lights had gone out following the power cut so it was total darkness with some light reflected from the storm clouds above. Days later I realised the dark silhouette I saw moving on the horizon between the remaining fixed buildings will have been the top floors of Kotewall Court collapsing. This image haunts me to this day.

By today's standards the tragic news was slow to come out – long before mobile phones and social media! With the closure of Conduit and Kotewall Roads we had no road access for weeks. Being the end of school term meant this was not a major inconvenience for a 9 year old – Hong Kong’s Government and construction industry soon had the Conduit Road re-opened. The affected slope remained undeveloped for years – the reinforced grass embankments constructed on either side of Kotewall Road became an understated and unmarked memorial to the tragic loss of life there.

I knew Jules spent 3 months in Queen Mary’s on life support and dialysis, recovering from his injuries. As soon as he was able, his father took Jules away; back to family in Canada to rebuild their lives. An escape from what will have been very raw and emotional memories for a young boy only familiar with love and happy days with his Dad, Mum and Caspar . I’m so glad Jules went on to make a good physical recovery and I hope he enjoys a happy family life in Canada today.  He’s one of life’s good guys. I remember him and his younger brother Caspar as bright lights - one so sadly snuffed out before living to realise his potential.

We also had friends living in Po Shan Mansions at the time – their Mum was a doctor at the University Health Centre. They had to vacate when the first signs of this landslide were reported (it was several hours before the worst took place lower down the hillside). They moved into a temporarily vacant University residence. Eventually they moved to an apartment in our block on University Drive – no doubt the decision not to return to Po Shan Mansions was heavily influenced by this terrible landslide.

Kotewall Road has had a lasting impact on many people who survived and witnessed this man-made tragedy. The 67 precious lives lost are not forgotten - many were children.

A eye-opening account on our shared experience.  I was at Island School by this time, so only knew the boys from their occasional visits to our flats to play.  I think I know your sister Belinda.  I was 75 Rutherford - you are 79R.  Looking forward to seeing her in a few weeks at our reunion in Gloucester.  You should try and get along if you are in the UK.

All the best.

Response to Simon Rylings

Thank you for your detailed and informative post. My contact with Jules since the disaster has ben intermittent but I can forward your post to him via another friend who survived the disaster if you like? [email protected] if you wish to correspond directly with me.

Terry Berrecloth

Bruce Berrecloth here.  I found this site by chance.  Dad's in Aus these days Im note sure if you are in touch with him. 

Best regards

Yes, your dad and I are friends on Facebook and we've chatted.  So so sorry to hear about Karen.  She was just a sweetie and I loved working with her at CGO. we had such a laugh.

Thanks for your reply. Hard to believe we lost Karen so young. 

This is an amazing little website of Hong Kong history. Take care and have a good year ahead.

paper for po shan road

Search land history here -.

Search land history here -  https://www1.iris.gov.hk/eservices/welcome.jsp?language=en

21, Po Shan Road

It was owned by Mr Li Fook Shu, the father of Mr David Li of Bank of East Asia. I think the property was established in around 1966. I often stop outside the property to admire the beauty of the lily tree planted inside the garden in spring. I think the Li family still owns it. The property is now in the market so may disappear soon unfortunately.

21 Po Shan Road

Very interesting David. I have known this property since 1983 when we moved to Hamilton Court, 8 Po Shan Road. According to Estate Agents websites, its original date of occupation was the 29th August 1964. I have always wondered who owned it. In all these years, it always had the air of an unoccupied property. There was a live-in caretaker, who had an alsatian dog for many years. In recent years however the caretaker was nowhere to be seen and the property looked the worse for it. A few weeks ago, I noticed that 'rubbish' from inside was being bagged up. Which ties in with your point about being on the market. 

Although the house survived the landslide, the garage and garden didn't. Both were rebuilt, the garage on the other side of Po Shan Road. Again the garage never appeared to be used. But very occasionally the garage doors would be open and one could see a grey vintage Rolls Royce car with flat tyres inside. Some 3 or 4 years ago the garage block was renovated, the Rolls Royce removed, and it appeared to be on the market for let as offices. Nobody ever moved in.

It is going to be a difficult site to redevelop given its location and history.

Ian, You are right. I remember the caretaker and the dog as well. In fact, it was the caretaker who first told me that the property was owned by the Li family. With the disappearance of the old buildings at 24 and 30 Po Shan Road, the Li's property is the only surviving mansion from the 60's in the area. Hope that the property can escape the fate of redevelopment, though I believe the chance is slim, very slim.

Another attraction in the area is the banyan tree with its branches and adventitious prop roots that span the Po Shan Road like a curtain, just outside Hamilton Court. There was another one as spectacular as this at Lyttelton Road but it sadly had its curtain removed a few years back, though the trunk remains.

Kotewall Road Landslide - Jules McNeil

I just found this incredible picture of Jules Macneil a friend of mine in Hong Kong. He and his brother lived in the building nextdoor. We played that afternooon,. Then in the middle of the night, theandslide swept away their building. Ours was next door or very close because we played together all the time and we very young. I remember my father waking my brothers and me up in the middle of the night and taking us to safety at a friends apartment. I think my mother was in Japan at the time. I kept asking him about my friends Jules and Caspar. The previous afternoon theu had come over with their little black and white dog, as I recall. We were supposed to meet up the next day. Then the slide happened. A few days later my father told me they had both died along with their mother. Until today, I never knew that Jules had survived. I was eight at the time . I still think about them often. Today, it occurred to me to do another search, and this is what I found! I am so glad that Jules made it, and so sorry that his brother and mother did not. I read above that he went to BC to rejoin his father and step siblings. We had moved from BC to Hong Kong, and many years later I woudl return to Vancouver for several years. I can't believe that picture, and I can't believe he made it. I would so have wanted to visit himin the hospital ( if that had even beenpossible). Thank you for posting. 

In response to Natalie Golay above, I would be happy to put you in touch with Jules who lives with his partner in Burnaby, BC.

May I ask where you now live?

Thank you so much! I'm in…

Thank you so much! I'm in California at the moment.  I actually spent more than+ 10 years in Vancouver from 1998, I had no idea of course that he was even alive!  Take care

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Hong Kong’s landslip warning system—40 years of progress

• Technical Note
• Published: 09 March 2020
• Volume 17 , pages 1453–1463, ( 2020 )

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• V. W. W. Kong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2173-667X 1 ,
• J. S. H. Kwan 1 &
• W. K. Pun 1  

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Early warning systems have often been considered an effective risk mitigation tools for landslides. In 1977, the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) of Hong Kong government established the world’s first territorial-wide early warning system for landslide disaster. The Landslip Warning System (LWS) has then been continuously enhanced and upgraded in response to the enrichment of rainfall and landslide database, advancement in instrumentation techniques and change in public perception of landslide risk over the last 40 years. This article consolidates the extensive experience of Hong Kong in using the landslip early warning system (LEWS) as a landslide risk management tool. A comprehensive review on the development process of the rainfall-landslide prediction models is presented. The landslide prediction model evolved from a rainfall duration-intensity model (late 1970) to a simple rainfall threshold model (middle 1980 to late 1990), then to a rainfall-landslide density model (early 2000) and rainfall-landslide frequency model (middle 2000s onward). Through regular review and update of the prediction model taking into account the availability of more recent data and activities that alter landslide risks, the performance of prediction model could be enhanced. The number of rain gauges expanded from 20 to 92 to support the operation of different generations of LWS. The GEO is currently adopting internet of thing (IOT) and cloud computing technology to enhance the resilience of the LWS, especially during extreme weather condition.

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This paper is published with the permission of the Head of the Geotechnical Engineering Office and the Director of Civil Engineering and Development, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

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Kong, V.W.W., Kwan, J.S.H. & Pun, W.K. Hong Kong’s landslip warning system—40 years of progress. Landslides 17 , 1453–1463 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01379-6

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Received : 24 February 2019

Accepted : 17 February 2020

Published : 09 March 2020

Issue Date : June 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01379-6

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