Consultants 1980 report unearthed after North Vancouver mudslides

A 25-year old report by a consulting engineer has become the focus of media attention following the mudslides in North Vancouver that destroyed two homes, killed one woman and resulted in the evacuation of 20 other families.
Reporters have unearthed a consulting engineer’s report written by Klohn Leonoff in 1980 for the City of Vancouver to investigate mudslides in the Berkley/Riverside Area, the same vicinity of the collapse this Wednesday. The 1980 consultant’s report was written after a mudslide in 1979, which also occurred after days of heavy rain and destroyed houses in the area. While the engineers described their report as only a general “reconnaissance” they warned against, among other things, the dangers of steepening the top of the ridge slope, and the potential hazards of heavy rainfalls.
It also mentioned specifically the house at 2175 Berkley Avenue, where the mudslide began. The report noted the house was built on fill, but was located at a distance back from the 75-metre high ridge. The ridge runs parallel to the Seymour River.