(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Civil Engineering & Development Department’s Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) announced that there were only 76 reports of landslides last year with no related injuries or deaths.

The figure is lower than the annual average of 300 reported landslides over the past 35 years.

However, given the hilly terrain of Hong Kong, the risk of landslides cannot be overlooked. Since 2010, the GEO has implemented the Landslip Prevention & Mitigation Programme to make the city’s slopes safer.

Every year, its goal is to upgrade 150 government man-made slopes, conduct safety-screening studies for 100 private man-made slopes, and implement studies and necessary risk mitigation works for 30 natural hillside catchments. 

In a current survey, Geotechnical Engineering Office (Island) Deputy Head Sammy Cheung said the office found that 53% of about 1,000 respondents questioned were concerned about slope safety.

“In recent years, there were not any serious landslides or fatalities caused by the landslides, so it is natural that the public feels that the slope safety problem has been fixed. The awareness (of the issue) has been dropping.” 

As a result, Mr Cheung cautioned people not to let their guard down and shared some self-help tips when the landslip warning is in force.

In order to raise public awareness about slope safety, the GEO has launched the Bowen Road Slope Study Trail.

The route is around 3km in length, with QR codes set up along the trail. People can experience the project in a virtual reality setting by scanning the codes to learn how the steel barriers on the slope can intercept debris as well as the Government’s various landslip prevention and mitigation measures.