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What to do if there is a landslide

Official updatesLU-Alert · RTL, 100.7 · 112

Do this now

  1. Get out of the path at once. Move sideways, away from the moving ground, and to higher, firmer ground.
  2. Leave everything behind. Do not go back for belongings, a car or a pet that has run off.
  3. If you cannot get away, curl up into a tight ball and protect your head with your arms.
  4. Shout to warn the people nearby, then call Status: Verified and say exactly where the slide is and whether anyone is caught in it.
  5. Keep well away from the slide. More ground may collapse.
  6. If you see new cracks in the walls or the ground, or doors that suddenly stick, leave the building and call for advice.
  7. Follow the rain warnings and LU-Alert, and listen to Status: Verified for instructions.

Before

Know the warning signs

  • Cracks that appear in the ground, on a slope, in paving or in the walls of your home.
  • Ground that bulges at the foot of a slope or a wall.
  • Doors and windows that start to stick for no clear reason.
  • Watch most closely after long or very heavy rain, on steep slopes, road cuttings, embankments and river banks.

Watch the weather

  • LU-Alert has a category for ground hazards, but its advice is decided case by case. Follow the heavy-rain warnings on Alerts and sirens and keep away from river banks while they last.
  • Stay alert during long, heavy rain, even at night. Many people killed by landslides were asleep when the ground moved.

Prepare the home

  • If you live below a steep slope or an embankment, have any new cracks checked by a specialist and tell your municipality.
  • Keep a grab bag by the door and agree where your household will meet if you have to leave fast. See the household plan and Leaving home.
  • Keep the usual kit: Status: Verified torch per person, a battery or wind-up radio, a whistle, medicines for at least Status: Verified, and water at Status: Verified per person per day for Status: Verified.

After

  • Stay away from the slide area until the authorities say it is safe. Do not walk on the debris.
  • Tell rescuers where you think people may be trapped, rather than going in yourself.
  • Watch for damaged roads, broken pipes and fallen cables. Treat every fallen cable as live.
  • Photograph the damage before anything is moved. The insurer will ask for it.
  • If heavy rain continues, keep watching for new cracks. If water is rising, follow Flooding.

If you are…

Looking after children

  • Show them the warning signs, and tell them to come away and tell an adult if they see the ground cracking or moving.

Older, ill, or living with a disability

  • If you would need help to leave quickly, agree now with a neighbour who comes to fetch you during heavy rain, and keep your medicines and a charged phone by the bed.

With pets

  • Keep a lead and a carrier by the door. If your pet runs off during a slide, let rescuers know rather than going after it.

Living below a slope

  • When heavy rain goes on into the night, keep shoes, a torch and your phone by the bed, and leave early if you notice any of the warning signs.

Easy-read summary

  • Move out of the way fast.
  • Warn the people near you.
  • Call for help.
  • Listen for heavy rain warnings.
  • Keep a bag and a torch ready.