The Thredbo landslide disaster occurred late evening on 30/7/1997 in the Thredbo village in Kosciuszko National Park, NSW. A portion of a road on Alpine Way collapsed resulting in the above ski lodge to slide down the hill, over 1000 tones of material slid down and crushed into another ski lodge below it. 18 ppeople died from the disaster(Hand, 2000). Consequence of the disaster The Thredbo Landslide brought along a range of consequences including physical damage, environmental, 18 people dead as well as a huge financial cost related to the Investigations, tourism, rescue and recovery.
The Caringa and Bimbadeen ski lodges were both destroyed in the disaster. The Impact zone of the landslide was very unstable, delaying the speed of the rescue effort. The area which was being searched for survivors had to be constantly monitored by specialists. This was in order to reduce the risk of injury to rescue workers. The area of the landslide suffered significant environmental damage including loss of top soil and vegetation. This resulted In an Increase In the level of erosion In the area.
Following the landslide there was a considerable amount of money spent in the ecovering the area, this was to reduce the chance of a further landslide . (Ylvisaker, 2003) There was a huge economic cost associated with the recovery. Many resources were required for the recovery. Diamond dill bits were used to drill through the concrete slabs. These bits costing $10 OOO(Ryzman & Zwar, 2003) Thermal imaging equipment was also used in an attempted to find survivors. Helicopters were also required to remove concrete slabs from the area.
This resulted In the rescue operation costing millions of dollars(Hand, 2000).Many emergency service workers were required as well as additional help from undreds of volunteers. The rescue effort was taxing on the workers due to the bad weather conditions and the threat of working on unstable ground. Part of the recovery Involved drilling through concrete slabs, this was a slow and tedious for the rescue workers, combined with the removal of bodies this greatly affected morale(Ryzman & Zwar, 2003). Immediately after the landslide a recommendation by was made that all other properties with close proximity to the disaster area should closed until further notice.
s a result, many people were worried about another landslide(Ryzman & Zwar, 2003).Techniques used to monitor the disaster The main techniques which were used in monitoring the disaster were used during the rescue effort. One of the main concerns during the rescue operation was the amount of unstable debris, this hindered greatly as it meant every move had to be assessed and monitored with careful consideration. This was essential as it reduced the risk of the rescue workers getting injured, as well as possible further injury to survivors.
One of the techniques which was being used to constantly monitor the concrete slabs which were being worked around. Surveyors were monitoring the slabs from a distance and reporting back any if there was any issues. In the Coroners inquest there is a notable mention about a specialist who had experience with landslides in Hong Kong. This specialist was able to advise about stability issues.
Hand, 2000) Sniffer dogs as well as heat sensing equipment was also used in detecting survivors. These were used to try and reduce the amount of unnecessary movement of debris. (Ryzman & zwar, 2003).Recommendations to reduce the damage next time The cause of the disaster was due to a number of reasons, A Coroner inquest confirmed the reasons of the disaster and gave a list of recommendation on preventing a future incident.
The main reason was due to a combination of a leaking water main and poor management of the road (Hand,2000). This water leak was caused from soil creep. Soil creep is slow movement of soil and rock from prolonged pressure from the mountain above. The leaking water main combined with the landfill which was used as fill in construction of the embankment of the road resulted in embankment becoming water logged.This resulted in the road being unstable and eventually collapsed(Hand, 2000). It was noted in the Coroner inquest that the RTA who was responsible for the management of the road had failed to upgrade the road.
It was also noted that the leakage from the water main could have been minimised. This would have been through alternate types of water pipes made from different materials rated to withstand greater levels of soil creep. (Hand, 2000) the road and water pipe had not adequately responded before the accident and had failed in there duty of care (Hand, 2000).Referencehttp://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Thredbo-disaster-at-last-the-facts/2004/12/02/1101923273802.html
