Hong Kong is densely populated and most of the land is hilly terrain. Many buildings and roads have to be built along hillside, resulting in a large number of steep man-made slopes. Under the influence of seasonal rainstorms, landslide has always been one of the most common natural hazards in Hong Kong.

Many people think of Hong Kong as a densely developed city, but in fact over 60% of the total land area is natural terrain and The Catalogue of Slopes currently contains about 60,000 registered man-made slopes. Our urban development, and hence the population is mainly located on or close to steep hillside. Landslide is a natural phenomenon. However, if landslides occur on these hillside, it will pose potential threat on urban development.

Looking back in time, landslides have claimed many lives and destroyed homes in Hong Kong. Although the Government has strived to tackle slope safety problem, it is obvious that landside risk cannot be totally eliminated. On average, about 300 landslides are reported to the Geotechnical Engineering Office each year.