Landslide causes home to slide toward Lake of the Ozarks shoreline
UPDATE: The home has moved several feet since it first began sliding. Officials say it’s not if, but when the house will collapse. It moved significantly on Saturday due to the heavy rainfall, but it continues to be the only home affected by the landslide.
Multiple agencies responded to a home on Cub Cove Point Monday night after a home began to slide downhill toward the bank of the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Mid-County Fire District arrived to the scene to find a 2 story lakefront home that had moved downhill toward the lake.
The soil around the home was sliding and consequently dislocated the utilities in the area.
The area around the home was secured and the Department of Natural Resources was called.
On Wednesday, the house was still standing but was condemned. Fire Chief Scott Frandsen told ABC 17 Wednesday night the home had moved about 38 inches downhill and sunk into the ground another 20 inches.
Officials told ABC 17 News on Tuesday the house was sliding downhill at a rate of about a half inch an hour. But crews on scene said that movement slowed down Tuesday night.
Officials said the crews took the dock down behind the house Monday night. Water patrol set up containment booms behind the home Tuesday so that debris would not float into the main channel of the lake if the house does collapse. Crews with the fire district will place the booms into the water behind the home Thursday morning, after getting approval from the highway patrol’s water division.
Crews taped off two neighboring homes and checked their foundations. But officials said it appears the landslide was only affecting the single home right now.
Mid-County fire officials said the house will likely not be standing by the end of the week.
Engineers, surveyors, and geologists were out at the home on Wednesday trying to assess the situation.
The puzzle that they have to solve is how to safely demolish the house.
With unstable ground, machinery can’t be brought in and they can’t temporarily anchor the house to anything.
The biggest issue is time, but it takes several days or weeks to get a solid plan together and all the paperwork signed.
“Over the course of last night, we don’t know if the rain exacerbated that problem. There’s just a lot of variables and right now we’re just in a monitoring and waiting game,” said Chief Frandsen.
As crews continue to work around the clock keeping track of the house’s movement, a few of them made a couple of trips inside to collect some family portraits and meaningful items.
Frandsen said the floor inside was noticeably sagging and structurally unsound.
That was the last trip crews will make inside the house.
Stay with ABC 17 News for the latest on this developing situation.
