Residents near VIC landslide site warned they may not be able to return home for weeks

Emergency services warn it could be weeks before evacuated residents near the site of a landslide in Melbourne's south can return home.

Transcript

00:00A three-story house slid down a slope yesterday morning in Macrae just before 9am.

00:08A landslide triggered the house to tumble, impacting two other properties on its way

00:13down.

00:14There was one person in the house at the time, a council worker for the Mornington Peninsula

00:19Shire.

00:20He was conducting an assessment and he was injured, taken to hospital, but is now in

00:25a stable condition.

00:27Authorities are now concerned about those other properties on that hill.

00:31They have been left exposed and those below have also may be impacted.

00:37But yesterday, about six properties were evacuated.

00:40Two of those were vacant holiday homes while the rest were permanent residents.

00:46Today though, the SES, Victoria Police, CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria are all on the scene

00:52and there will be geotechnical surveys conducted as well.

00:56There is concern about rain that is coming into the region today as well and what impact

01:01that will have on terrain.

01:03The road that I'm standing along, the Point Nepean Road, which is one of the main thoroughfares

01:07along the coast, has been closed and it's unclear when it will reopen.

01:11It's also unclear when those residents that evacuated will be able to return home.

01:16We did speak to the SES Sorrento Unit Controller, Mark Doerr, here's what he had to say.

01:22I would say at the moment VicRoads is reluctant to open the road until we know what that potential,

01:29that mass up that hill is going to do and either how we can mitigate it and move that

01:36mass into a safe location or move it to de-take it away would be the best bet for us.

01:44Realistically for the people to move back in, unknown, but it could be weeks.

01:49So this area is no stranger to landslides, just last week this same house had a minor

01:55landslide occur and it was vacated and taped off.

01:59Also in November 2022 there was another landslide which caused the previous owners of that same

02:04house to evacuate for one and a half days.

02:08Two other people from two separate houses also evacuated and still haven't been able

02:13to return home.

02:15But for now VicEmergency is saying for those camping along this area on the foreshore just

02:21further down it is safe for them but they are warning that this slope here could still

02:26be moving within the coming hours or even days.

02:30So they are telling people to avoid this area and for those affected residents there is

02:35a relief centre open as well nearby in Dramana.