Moraga Families Evacuate From Landslide, Neighbors Criticize EBMUD Response

MORAGA (KPIX 5) – Residents of a Moraga neighborhood evacuated over the weekend after a landslide emerged. People who live in the area said East Bay MUD, which owns the land where the soil is sliding, isn't helping much.

Two homes are in danger of sliding into a creek behind their properties.

While the front of one of the homes looks fine, the back of the home is teetering on a cliff after a huge chuck of the foundation has slid away. A few yards away, a trail has already buckled like a freeway in an earthquake.

"We're just trying to get as many things out as quickly as possible," said one of the homeowners, who did not want to give his name.

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EBMUD owns the land behind the homes as part of its watershed.

Neighbor Laura Bergeson, who worries her house could go next, said the utility should do more. "We've had zero communication from East Bay MUD," Bergeson told KPIX 5.

EBMUD spokesperson Andrea Pook said, "We can't get any equipment to do any fix. Even if we had a fix today, we can't get equipment on there because the soils are totally unstable and they are wet."

Until the rain stops, EBMUD said they are monitoring, and put down large tarps to try and get the soil to dry faster.

The people who live in the homes don't want to take any risk and have decided to leave. "Definitely won't be sleeping here tonight," the homeowner said.

EBMUD said they inspected part of the hillside in January when there was sign of trouble. But there was no indication then, that this other part of the hillside would give way.