8 – Nasandhura Landslide

Landslide of Nasandhura High-Rise into Deep Sea

Below is the body of a self-explanatory letter (slightly improved) I sent to President Yameen

I am obliged once again to bring to your notice yet another possible blunder by your Government, namely, the possible landslide of the planned 25-story structure on Nasandhura site, along with a large chunk of the Airport Ferry Harbour (with its sea-floor), into deep sea beyond the reef’s edge. 

The reasoning underlying this concern is as follows:  

1)  Coral reefs are made of calcium carbonate and, while good in bearing compression loads, are very weak when subject to tension – typical of most brittle materials. 

2)  The hammer-piling being carried out on the site will subject the area to such tension and will lead to forming hair cracks of various types in the rock base, a worst case being the cracks joining together to form concentric faults (crack surfaces) parallel to the reef’s outer vertical face. 

3)  Given this, a heavy building load coupled with vibrations due to motor vehicle movements will tend to make the faults / surfaces more distinct and may help the land mass underneath the structure – from the land-side edge of the foundation and at an angle of about 45º perpendicular to the site, and along the length of the structure – to slide into the deep sea beyond the reef’s edge.  If this happens, the landslide will not only take with it that portion of the Airport Ferry Harbour in front of the site along with its sea-floor, with the potentially huge loss of life and property, but will also get deep sea to move inland to the north side of Ameer Ahmed Magu along the length of the site.  The attached sketch would clarify the concept and help the layperson to understand the risks involved.  

I am not saying that this scenario will definitely occur; only that it is a likely possibility – actual outcomes will depend on the strengths and interplay of the responsible forces.  I am also not an engineer, but I do have a good foundation in engineering basics, including soil mechanics. 

Given the stakes, I urge you to get an evaluation of these concerns by an experienced geotechnical engineer instead of leaving the fate of an important part of Malé to the whims of a site supervisor. 

The above is, of course, besides the craziness of building ever higher structures in a tiny island of only 2 km² that is already filled to the brim with structures (refer to Google Earth, locate Malé – 4º 10' N, 73º 35' E – and magnify view) and congested with poison-spewing motor vehicles, and the havoc your bridge will bring about in not-too-distant a future.