Case Study: Slope Failure
Site Location and Description
Confidential, Atlantic Highlands Region, New Jersey: Several residential condominium units were damaged by a landslide that occurred during Hurricane Irene in 2011. The down-hill land owners asserted the landslide was due to the lack of maintenance by the up-hill property owners of the steep slope.
Key Project Elements
E&LP was retained to provide an engineering assessment of the mechanisms of slope failure and to document the historic development of the area, both above and below the bluff.
Through review of historic site development documents and review of aerial photographs, we confirmed the landslide occurred within a well documented slump-block (steep slope prone to landslides). The slump block and associated steep slopes of the bluff have been in a state of failure for thousands of years as documented in a 1974 publication by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Furthermore, we were able to document the up-hill property owners had developed their properties decades before the most recent slope failure, which appears to be less stable by more recent property development on top and below the slope.
In summary, we were able to document the developers proposed, the municipality approved, and current owners willingly purchased residential dwellings adjacent to and below a known hazard.
