A study of HKU’s

slopes
By : Anson Law (17)
Wesley Ma (22)
Ryan Kwok (15)
Cody Lui (21)
Jason Lo (20)
 Map of
Hong Kong
Island
The total land area of
Hong Kong is about
1100km² but two-
thirds of it are hilly.
Many steep slopes are
found.
 Topography of HKU

The campus of the University

of Hong Kong was built on the
bottom of Lung Fu Shan which
is part of Victoria Peak. It is
surrounded by steep slopes.
 Possible reasons for
landslides in the campus
1. Hong Kong’s summer is hot and humid.

2. When rainwater infiltrates into the slope material, it reduces

friction of the slope and cohesion of slope materials.

3. Rainwater also adds weight and shear stress to the slope

materials.
 Reasons for possible
landslides in the campus
4.Gravitational force increases when gradient increases.

5. Many areas in Hong Kong are made of granite rocks. This type of rock

has a well-jointed structure and is easily weathered by hot and wet

climate of Hong Kong to become loose materials. They may cause

landslides easily when there is heavy rainfall.

 Since the campus
is a site where a lot
of students, staffs
and visitors visit
daily. Any landslide
occurs in the area
may cause injuries
or casualties.
Pictures taken in HKU
campus which show
that it is built on a slope
slope
Preventive measures
taken by HKU
We believe the following has been done:

1) Careful planning and landslide risk assessments were carried out

before actual construction.

2) Instruments were installed to monitor dangerous slopes.

3) There were records about all the at-risk slopes throughout the
campus. And regular inspections and maintenance works were
carried out to ensure their safety.
Multiple
preventive
engineering
measures are
found in HKU to
protect the
slopes
Buildings and roads were built
near a cut slope. Gradient is
generally steep. Retaining walls
were built for supporting steep
slope.
 Weepholes were found in some of the
retaining walls which help to release
excess water and ground-water pressure.
 Soil nails are steel bars inserted into predrilled holes
of a slope to improve the strength of a soil mass.

In multiple places
on the campus, soil
nails were found on
the slope walls.
 Surface drainage channels were
found along the hillside to drain water
from the slope surface or the soil.
There are boulder fences on
the more remote slopes. They
are used to trap rocks from
falling down the slope.
To prevent water from
infiltrating into the slopes,
some slopes are covered with
shotcrete.
 Trees and
grass are planted
on the slopes to
provide surface
protection and let
the roots retain
water.
Our findings
A walk around the HKU campus
let us discover various preventive
engineering measures being
implemented on different slopes
found there.
Thank You!

The End