The Office of the Ombudsman has raised concerns over frequent landslides occurring at government man-made slopes in Hong Kong, highlighting that one location had four landslides in different areas within five years.
In a direct investigation report released on Thursday, the office reviewed nine serious landslides that occurred since 2008. It found that most slopes with repeated landslides were either not included in a specific monitoring programme or deemed relatively low priority.
In one case involving a 397-square metre slope on Wing Lung Road in Hang Hau, landslides at different parts of the slope occurred in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021 despite it being on the government’s monitoring list, according to the report.
Some slopes recorded “repeated landslides” within three years since the first incident, including those located on Pak Tam Road in Sai Kung, South Lantau Road on Lantau Island, Lower Shing Mun Reservoir, and Tai Lam Chung Catchwater.
“Even if the government department with maintenance responsibility has carried out emergency works after the first incident, this does not necessarily entail full mitigation of the potential landslide risks,” the office said in the report’s summary.
A spokesman of the office said the recurrence of incidents “inevitably raised concerns about the potential risks and structural safety of these slopes”, even though the risk of casualties from slope failure was not considered to be at the highest level.
In Hong Kong, characterised by its hilly terrain, 60 per cent of land is covered by natural hillsides. During rainy seasons, landslides could pose threats to lives and property.
