Notable Landslides in Hong Kong's History by TEACHER

B. 18 June 1972: The Po Shan Road Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:04:15 UTC

At around 9 pm on 18 June 1972 a disastrous landslide began at a hillside above Po Shan Road of the Mid-levels. The huge mass of debris crossed Conduit Road, sweeping away an already-evacuated six-storey building in its path. The debris continued to slide downhill and completely destroyed the 12-storey apartment block, Kotewall Court. In the process, the top four storeys of an adjacent newly constructed but unoccupied building, Greenview Gardens, were torn off. The disaster killed 67 people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvcs80Ty7WE

C. 1976: Sau Mau Ping Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:04:15 UTC

On 25 August 1976, the fill slope behind Block 9 of Sau Mau Ping Estate in Kwun Tong collapsed during the heavy rain. The wet mud poured into the lower floors of the building, killing 18 people. The failed slope in 1976 was only 200 metres from the site of the devastating landslide four years earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvcs80Ty7WE

D. 1994: Kwun Lung Lau Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:04:15 UTC

A landslide occurred below Block D of Kwun Lung Lau in Kennedy Town on 23 July 1994. The ground that failed included part of the masonry wall and slope below Block D. Pedestrians on the footpath below were hit by about 1,000 cubic metres of debris. The landslide killed five people, and 2,000 families were evacuated.

https://www.cedd.gov.hk/filemanager/eng/content_252/er103_contents.pdf

F. 2008: North Lantau Highway Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:04:16 UTC

Some 35 landslides occurred on a natural hillside above North Lantau Highway (NLH) in the morning of 7 June 2008. The failure volume ranged from less than 5 cubic metres to 400 cubic metres. Debris reached NLH and blocked the road drainage system, resulting in serious flooding of a 200-metre section of the road. The NLH, the critical transport corridor to the Hong Kong International Airport, had been closed for about 16 hours.

https://www.cedd.gov.hk/filemanager/eng/content_488/er272.pdf

G. 2008: Lantau West Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:04:16 UTC

Hong Kong saw a historical rainstorm on 7 June 2008. The maximum 4-hour rolling rainfall of 384mm recorded at Lantau Island west was found to have a return period 1,000 years. About 360 landslides were reported to the GEO. This rainstorm also triggered more than 2,000 natural terrain landslides in the remote areas, which were not reported to the Government.

https://www.cedd.gov.hk/filemanager/eng/content_493/er275links.pdf

A. 18 June 1972: Sau Mau Ping Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:14:10 UTC

Disaster struck in Sau Mau Ping at 12:45 pm on 18 June 1972. The fill slope supporting Hiu Kwong Street collapsed after days of heavy rains. Thousands of tons of soil washed downhill, destroying 78 squatter huts. The disaster resulted in 71 fatalities.

E. 1995: Sham Wan Road Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:17:57 UTC

A few hours after the Fei Tsui Road landslide, around 4:00 am on 13 August 1995, another major landslide took place on the hillside above Shum Wan Road, Aberdeen. The landslide caused a 30-metre long section of Nam Long Shan Road to collapse. The debris travelled across Shum Wan Road and shoved three shipyards and a factory into the sea. A couple were killed in this incident.

https://www.cedd.gov.hk/filemanager/eng/content_434/er_shumwan2.pdf

H. 2016: Sai Kung Sai Wan Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:22:01 UTC

A landslide occurred on a natural hillside above Sai Kung Sai Wan Road, Sai Kung East Country Park, in the morning of 21 May 2016. The landslide mainly involved a rock slide with a source volume of about 2,100 m3. The debris travelled about 500 m down the hill, eventually coming to rest in a natural drainage line above High Island Reservoir. The fill slope below supporting Sai Kung Sai Wan Road was partly eroded, undermining the road and resulting in road closure for several months for repair works.

https://www.cedd.gov.hk/filemanager/eng/content_587/er336link.pdf

I. 2023: Yiu Hing Road Landslide

geog27 — 2025-03-19 11:22:15 UTC

From 7 to 8 September 2023, Hong Kong is hit by a century's heavy rain, which caused widespread landslides. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a black rainstorm warning signal at 11:05 pm on 7 September 2023. On 8 September 2023, there was a landslide of over 3000 cubic meters on Yiu Hing Road in Shau Kei Wan. The incident resulted in the closure of two lanes of Yiu Hing Road.