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Owners Grateful After Holiday Home Destroyed in Landslide
Incident Overview
The owners of a holiday home destroyed in a landslide at a Victorian tourism hotspot have expressed their gratitude that no one died in the emergency and have engaged lawyers to address the situation.
Landslide Details
Nick and Kellie Moran’s property on Penny Lane at McCrae, on the Mornington Peninsula, collapsed down a hill shortly before 9am on Tuesday. This occurred just a week after the family escaped another slip at their $2 million property that had pushed earth and trees against their house, nearly reaching the gutter.
Injury Report
A council worker, aged in his 50s, sustained lower body injuries during the collapse while conducting an inspection related to the earlier slip. “We are very grateful that nobody died,” the couple stated. “Our thoughts are with the injured Mornington Peninsula Shire employee, who we understand is in a stable condition.”
Previous Landslip
The couple’s clifftop home had been impacted by a landslip at a property above theirs a week prior. “On that occasion, family members were in the house and, fortunately, no one was injured or killed,” they said. “The subsequent slip from the same property is very significant.”
Legal and Insurance Actions
Nick and Kellie Moran have engaged a lawyer and stated they would work with their insurer to address the damages. “We will have a measured approach to working through this with all the relevant parties,” they added.
Earlier Slip Encounter
Moran shared on LinkedIn that his wife and daughter were “bloody lucky” to escape the earlier slip. “[It] narrowly missed my daughter and wife, let alone the stack of people we entertained there over the break,” he posted. “I know everyone goes through stuff and doesn’t necessarily get a positive outcome, but on this occasion, I know how bloody lucky we are.”
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Safety Assessments and Resident Concerns
Residents in nearby homes were unable to return to their properties as safety assessments were conducted, with warnings that they would need to stay away until at least Wednesday night. “Those investigations are ongoing, but there’s obviously unstable land, so we need to work out exactly what’s going on there,” said Mornington Peninsula mayor Anthony Marsh. “It’s devastating for the owners and a huge concern for close residents around.”
Geotechnical Inspections
Access to the properties, most of which are holiday homes, will depend on results from geotechnical engineers’ inspections. University of Melbourne geomorphologist David Kennedy highlighted that building heavy structures on top of sea cliffs destabilizes soil and can trigger slides.
Local Impact
Local resident Tanina Osborne noted that other houses in the area had been deemed unsafe in the past year. “I think that entire hill is going to have to be looked at,” she said. A water outlet near their daily swimming spot had been gushing into the bay three weeks earlier due to a water main issue on a road above the landslide. “That could have contributed as well, I don’t know,” Osborne added.