Damage estimate of La Jolla landslide is $48 million, for now
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SAN DIEGO -- A landslide that tore away a chunk of a pricey hilltop neighborhood caused an estimated $48 million in damage, according to city officials.
The amount includes $26 million for broken sewer and water mains, and $22 million for private property losses in the upscale La Jolla area, officials announced last week.
The initial estimate probably will change as geologists continue their investigation into why the land gave way, city homeland security program manager Donna Faller said.
Wednesday’s landslide cut a 50-yard-long chasm in a four-lane street that serves as a thoroughfare between Pacific Beach and La Jolla. Seven homes were declared uninhabitable, and nine residences were yellow-tagged, with residents permitted to be escorted inside only long enough to gather key possessions. At the height of the emergency, 111 homes were evacuated.
Crews spent Saturday digging a 16-foot-deep manhole for a new sewer line to service the undamaged homes on Soledad Mountain Road.
Geologists have found the neighborhood to be prone to landslides. At least three significant slides have occurred between 1961 and 1994, including a major failure in 1961 that destroyed seven homes under construction.
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