McCrae residents displaced by landslide won’t be allowed home until cause of disaster identified
McCrae residents evacuated after a landslide destroyed a luxury house, have been told the local council’s “best people” are investigating the disaster.
South East
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Residents displaced by a chaotic landslide on the Mornington Peninsula have been told it will be weeks before they are allowed to return to their homes to collect their belongings.
The grim news was delivered to anxious and angry evacuees at a meeting in Dromana on Wednesday afternoon.
Paul and Denise Willigenburg said residents were informed at least half of the 15 properties evacuated after a luxury house plunged 50m down cliffs at McCrae would not be accessible until the cause of the disaster was identified and the area made safe.
“We’ll be waiting a long time to get back in and when we are allowed access it will under police supervision,” Mr Willigenburg said.
“Those living at the properties that are not in the slip line but are close by will be able to get back into their homes earlier, but not until Point Nepean Rd reopens.”
He said residents were told the main thoroughfare would not reopen until authorities could rule out another landslide sending debris onto the road.
Evacuees were also told geotechnical engineers were on site searching for the water source believed to be responsible for the landslide.
Mornington Peninsula mayor Anthony Marsh said the council’s “best people were diligently investigating” the source and cause of the landslip.
“We are also focused on identifying the necessary rectification and remediation works to make the area safe again,” he said.
Mr Marsh thanked the community for its patience, cooperation and understanding as the council navigated the challenging situation.
He also acknowleged the emergency service teams and volunteers “working tirelessly to make the site safe”.
“We are in direct contact with affected residents and homeowners and will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available,” he said.
Mr Willigenburg said.residents had a lot of questions for the local council about an earlier landslide in November 2022 and its possible connection to Tuesday’s disaster.
“The two haven’t been linked yet, but there was a lot of anxiety from residents in the meeting about why that incident had never been resolved,” Mr Willigenburg said.
The Willigenburgs now have two properties on the McCrae cliffs that can’t be accessed.
Their own home at 613 Point Nepean Rd, which they haven’t lived in since 10 tonnes of dirt thundered down the cliffs into their backyard on November 2022, and the rental they moved to a few doors down at 607.
The rental was in the direct path of the $2.1m home that on Tuesday tumbled down the cliffs from 3 Penny Lane above.
“Our current neighbours at 603 are also facing a long wait to access their home and those living above at 12 View Point Rd,” Mr Willigenburg said.
The November 2022 incident is subject to a legal stoush between the Willigenburgs, their insurers and Mornington Peninsula Shire.
Mr Willigenburg said six geotechnical surveys of the area had been done in the past two years, as part of the legal action.
“There’s still no definitive cause that the experts can agree on, nor a way to fix it,” he said.
Residients living in the streets above the evacuated area were also worried about the amount of water bubbling below the surface across the cliffs.
They pointed to new, large potholes that had appeared near the corner of Prospect Hill Rd and Coburn Ave as evidence of an underground stream that may have contributed to Tuesday’s landslide.
The potholes, which sink alarmingly when driven over have been reported to WorkSafe and Mornington Peninsula Shire.
Tradie Keith who used to live on Coburn Rd said the ground was “always boggy” on either side of the road and the fresh potholes were further evidence of the amount of water just below the surface.
“Those potholes have just opened up and are getting wider and deeper as the day goes on,” he said.
“You can also often hear the water rushing through the drains, even when it’s not raining.”