Training Course Slope Stability and Stabilization: Case Study - Graça, Lisbon (POR)

Training Course
Slope Stability and Stabilization

Case study – Graça, Lisbon (POR)
MACAU, 23-27 APRIL 2018
Pedro Guedes de Melo

CONSULGEO
consulgeo@mail.telepac.pt
www.consulgeo.pt
TRAINING COURSE ON SLOPE STABILITY AND STABILIZATION – MACAU, 23-27 APRIL 2018
Case study – Slope instability at Graça, centre of Lisbon (POR)

1
Sequence of events
• The location is Vila Martins, Graça,

Lisbon.
• The slope instability took place on

the 5th May 2010.
• The slope was around 20m high.
• The instability involved the

complete destruction of 6
structures that were built on the
slope.
Sequence of events
• Before instability.
2
Sequence of events
• After instability.
Sequence of events
• The instability was recorded on video and took place in two stages.
• In the first stage, only one structure collapse (green)
• In the second stage, the other 5 structures collapsed (red)
3
Geotechnical environment
• The substratum in the area corresponds to materials from the Miocene,

very typical in Lisbon area.
• These are very stiff sandy and silty materials, often leading to SPT values
over 60 blows, with some discontinuous layers of limestone.
• On top of these, there were recent deposits of heterogeneous materials.
Sequence of events
• The first stage

instability does not
shows anything in
particular, besides the
collapse of the
structure.
4
Sequence of events
• The second stage

instability showed
clearly that this was a
translational slide in
the upper part of the
slope.
• At the lower part,

structures seemed to
fall into a “hole”.
Sequence of events
• The view after the

slope instability.
• This seems to be the

“hole” where the
structures fell into.
5
Sequence of events
• These walls seemed to be built

in the substratum and resisted
well to the instability of the
upper structures.
• They were the wall of the
“hole”.
Sequence of events
• The upper structures remained quite unstable.

6
The instability on video

Some pictures
• The slope
7
Some pictures
• Degradation of structures
Some pictures
• Degradation of structures
8
Some pictures
• The scarp of the landslide

Some pictures
• Monitoring was taking place

2 months after instability
9
Some pictures
• The road had to be cut to

traffic for removal of the
debris
Available information for the study
• The study was carried out two months after instability.
• No site investigation was being carried out at that time.
• The only available information was the one that could be collected from
interviews made by the press to the residents of neighboring buildings.
• Newspapers and television reports were very useful at that time.
10
Records from the press
• Here is what the neighbors said to the press:
• “One of the buildings on the top of those that collapsed is

“barefoot”, that is, without a solid support structure at the base”.
• “I still fed and watered the dogs when the houses began to creep in
on the floor. A great cloud of dust rose”.
• “It was something I've never seen in my life, trees and everything
down there. There was only one hole left, I thought we were going
there too”.
• “The scenario is one of total destruction”.
• “The houses are not buried. They disappeared completely”.
• “After falling one house, the others also began to fall”.
• “I started to wonder why my patio started to open, but I never

thought such a thing could happen here”.
• “The pipes were already pouring water everywhere and no one ever
heard us. There must be a disgrace for someone to do something”,

"said a resident, who two years ago had joined 1500 signatures for
the Mayor to intervene“.
• “The owner of the house says that yesterday the house was already
with cracks of about ten centimeters, while the previous day did not
pass two centimeters”.
• “Yesterday I saw the cement of the yard opening all over. Then the
water was missing, which is not normal”.
11
• “The Town Hall councilwoman pointed out that the land in that area
was “very humid”, corroborating the suspicions of residents who
spoke of a pipe that for a long time spilled water without being
fixed”.
• “A pipe began pouring water and we saw the walls sag. When we
got to the door today, everything began to shake and slowly
crumble”.
• “I begun to see the yard cracked yesterday. Today, it was with much
more cracks and much bigger than yesterday”.
• “The slope is hollow due to lack of water drainage”.
Rainfall records
• The rainfall records were obtained from two stations close to Lisbon
area (these results were at that time available in the internet).
• In the two weeks before the landslide the rainfall was almost null.
60
50
Precipitação (mm)
40 60
30 50
Precipitação (mm)
20 40
Deslizamento
10 30
0 20
Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10
Deslizamento
Data
10
0
Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10
Data
12
What was possible to conclude
• The structures involved in the landslide were very degraded and

presented poor construction quality.
• Apparently, most of the affected structures had no sewage system.
• The structures were relatively light (apparently almost always only had
ground floor).
• The structures were practically only supported on the most superficial
soils, with no sign that their foundation reached the competent ground
underneath the surface landfills;
• There are references to the lack of water in some areas and to the
anomalous presence of water in others, which indicates the rupture of
pipelines in some places, and that the water was trying to find new
paths to circulate; “the land in the area was very humid”;
• The instability process seems to have developed rapidly, with some
references to a significant variation of crack openings in walls within 24
hours.
What was possible to conclude
• The origin of the landslide should be associated to three main causes:

• the abnormal presence of water on the ground (not from rain);
• the lack of adequate foundations of affected structures;
• the poor construction quality and high degree of structural
degradation.
• Of the three, the one that seems to have had a fundamental importance
in the development of the final phase of the instability is the abnormal
presence of water in the ground, since it is the only cause that could
have undergone a sudden variation in the moments (possibly some
days) to landslide.
13
Training Course
Slope Stability and Stabilization
MACAU, 23-27 APRIL 2018
Pedro Guedes de Melo

CONSULGEO
consulgeo@mail.telepac.pt
www.consulgeo.pt
14

Training Course Slope Stability and Stabilization: Case Study - Graça, Lisbon (POR)

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Training Course

Slope Stability and Stabilization

Pedro Guedes de Melo

Case study – Slope instability at Graça, centre of Lisbon (POR)

• The location is Vila Martins, Graça,

• The slope instability took place on

• The slope was around 20m high.

• The instability involved the

• The substratum in the area corresponds to materials from the Miocene,

• The first stage

• The second stage

• At the lower part,

• The view after the

• This seems to be the

• These walls seemed to be built

• The upper structures remained quite unstable.

The instability on video

• The scarp of the landslide

• Monitoring was taking place

• The road had to be cut to

Available information for the study

• The study was carried out two months after instability.

• No site investigation was being carried out at that time.

• Newspapers and television reports were very useful at that time.

Records from the press

• Here is what the neighbors said to the press:

• “One of the buildings on the top of those that collapsed is

on the floor. A great cloud of dust rose”.

• “The scenario is one of total destruction”.

• “The houses are not buried. They disappeared completely”.

• “After falling one house, the others also began to fall”.

Records from the press

• Here is what the neighbors said to the press:

• “I started to wonder why my patio started to open, but I never

heard us. There must be a disgrace for someone to do something”,

Records from the press

• Here is what the neighbors said to the press:

• “The slope is hollow due to lack of water drainage”.

What was possible to conclude

• The structures involved in the landslide were very degraded and

What was possible to conclude

• The origin of the landslide should be associated to three main causes:

Pedro Guedes de Melo

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