Does homeowners insurance cover landslide damage?
Usually not. Oregon's Division of Financial Regulation notes that landslide is a standard exclusion in homeowners policies, as is flood, so damage caused by soil movement is commonly not paid. Only your insurer can say what your policy does, and that decision is theirs to make.
That makes records valuable. Photograph the slope, the cracks, the water path and any damage, with dates. Keep the documents from any engineer's inspection.
Some policies cover the water damage that follows from a covered cause but not the movement itself. Ask your agent to explain the policy language, and ask in writing.
When do slides cluster in Portland?
In wet winters, especially after days of heavy rain on already saturated ground. The 1996 storm season produced more than 700 landslides in the city, according to material linked to the state geology agency. Slopes in the West Hills receive the most attention, but any steep, wet lot can be affected.
The city's average of about 20 slides a year hides a wide range: some years have a handful, and a stormy year can have hundreds. Rainfall over several days matters more than a single storm.
We do not predict slides. The point is that the weeks of high rainfall between November and February are also the weeks to watch your slope.
What should you do if soil is moving?
Leave if the house may be unsafe, keep clear of the slope, and contact your local building or emergency authority. Do not go below or onto a moving slope. Once it is safe, call for water removal and drying, and arrange an engineer's inspection before major cleanup or rebuilding.
A moving slope is not a restoration problem first. It is a safety and engineering problem, and a restoration crew should not be sent into a building the engineer has not cleared.
After the engineer has seen it, we can dry and document, and the engineer's report and our records together tell your insurer what happened.
What does a technician do on a hillside house?
The technician reads the water pattern inside, noting where it enters, how it travels along drains and foundation walls and whether the building has shifted. Water and mud are removed and the structure dried. Cracks and movement are photographed for an engineer, and the technician does not judge stability.
Basements cut into slopes have a retaining effect, and a wet uphill wall may be carrying soil pressure as well as water. Drilling or cutting into such a wall is a matter for the right specialist.
Doors, windows and floor levels tell their own story. A door that no longer closes, a gap at a stair stringer or a crack that opens along a diagonal should be recorded.
How can you keep slope water away from a house?
Keep gutters and downspouts clear and discharging well away from the foundation, maintain drains and retaining wall weep holes, and avoid dumping water or fill on a slope. A drainage contractor or engineer can design a plan. These steps reduce water against the house but cannot guarantee stability.
Plantings with deep roots help some slopes and not others, and clearing a slope without advice can make things worse. Ask a professional before major changes.
Look at the slope after the first heavy rain of the season. New seeps or muddy water are early warnings.
