Study on the stability of slopes in densely populated areas under effects of stormwater and loads-case study of 3 August 2021 landslide on the natural hillside above Middleton Towers

Abstract

A study of stability of slopes in densely populated areas under effects of stormwater and loads has been carried out because there are so many unstable natural slopes in Hong Kong, especially in densely populated area. And it is to find out the mechanism of slope failure and the factors that attributed to the slope failure in different extent. Data has been obtained from GEO Data for Public Use, GEO Report No. 369 and Geotechnical Information Infrastructure System (GInfo) by searching on the internet and CEDD library. And they are presented in the form of figures and tables. The data has been interpreted in relation to the Limit Equilibrium and Finite Element theory, Terzaghi’s method. And it is concluded that rainfall conditions are found to be one of the important factors triggering slope instability, and discontinuity rainfall being more likely to cause slope instability compared to the continuity. Meanwhile, the load factor can effect on the factor of safety of the slope by increasing the stability when under low level rainfall.