McCrae homeowners tell landslide inquiry of daughter's narrow escape during earlier landslipBy Jesse ThompsonTopic:Landslides59m ago59 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 3:23amThe owners of the house that collapsed during the January landslide have described being in the home as it was hit by a previous smaller slip. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)In short:The owners of a home that crashed down a hill during a landslide in McCrae have told an inquiry how their daughter came close to being seriously injured or killed during a landslip that substantially damaged their house about a week before it was destroyed.The couple has also told of how previous landslides had not been mentioned in pre-purchase property reports.What's next?The inquiry will hear from more homeowners this week.abc.net.au/news/mccrae-landslide-inquiry-home-owners-evidence/105281822Link copiedShareShare articleThe owners of a holiday home destroyed in a landslide have described how their daughter only narrowly escaped serious injury — or death — when a smaller landslide struck their home about a week-and-a-half earlier.The history of landslides in the wealthy McCrae neighbourhood, on the coastline of Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, has come under the microscope as a high-level inquiry probes the cause of the disaster and how to prevent a repeat.The January 14 incident sent Nick and Kellie-Ann Moran's $2 million home crashing down the escarpment and raised serious questions about the viability of the hillside neighbourhood.The property owners were at home when an earlier, small landslip caused major damage to the house. (ABC News)The Morans spoke publicly about the ordeal for the first time at a Board of Inquiry hearing in Melbourne on Monday, where much of the evidence focused on an earlier landslide that struck while Ms Moran and her daughter were home.The mother of three said she'd been standing on the deck on the evening of January 5 when she mistook a loud rumbling for a storm — until she heard her daughter calling out."There was a lot of banging. Banging and rumbling," she said."The house was moving. You could feel it."Photo submitted to inquiry shows damage to interior of homeA photo taken about half an hour later showed the significant damage a mass of dislodged soil and vegetation wrought on the house.A laundry and bathroom were pushed inward, caving into a hallway where the couple's 22-year-old daughter had been standing moments earlier."The laundry door was pushed across the hallway and had actually protruded into the bedroom, where she was opposite," the mother-of-three said."That's where she was standing."The inquiry has been told a smaller landslip pushed the laundry and bathroom into a hallway where the Morans' adult daughter had been standing moments before. (Supplied: Tanina Osborne)Within hours, the property was being inspected by emergency management teams.The inquiry has heard a significant amount of water was gushing through the stormwater drains before the landslide. (Supplied: Andrew Boyd)The Morans travelled back to Melbourne later that night, understanding they could not stay in the home even though they had not received a formal evacuation notice.Returning the next day, Ms Moran said she spoke with a neighbour who said he'd previously notified the council about an unusual amount of water moving through the area's stormwater system, despite a lack of rainfall.Water had also been observed flowing down the staircase of the damaged home.Mr Moran described how the gravity of the incident struck him when he inspected the damage in the following days."It was then that it just hit me how that's where [my daughter] was standing," he said."It just would've killed her. Just instantly. It would've taken her out."Landslide risk raised before home purchaseThe landslide that toppled the home took place less than two years after the couple bought the property following due diligence checks.Mr Moran said he took out standard property reports and checked the home's insurability with two providers, noticing nothing untoward.The Morans say property reports they ordered before they bought the Penny Lane property did not reveal previous landslides. (Supplied)But after the Morans spotted temporary fencing beside their future home, and later learned of a November 2022 landslide nearby, they raised their concerns with their real estate agency.Mr Moran said they were forwarded council information "that there had been a slip but it didn't affect the property, and it was all pretty much under control".It was only after the Morans moved into the home that they learned two neighbouring properties had been under evacuation orders since the 2022 event.About eight homes, including the Morans', have remained in an exclusion zone since the January 2025 slip.A council worker who was inspecting the house was also badly injured.The inquiry will hear from other affected home-owners as it continues this week.Posted 59m ago59 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 3:23amShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesMichelle Rowland to become attorney-general as PM unveils new cabinetLIVEOne child is slapped, another vomits metal hooks: Inside an Australian childcare giantTopic:Child CarePhoto shows A still from a Snapchat video shows a baby on a bouncer crying.The 9,000-product catch behind Bunnings's biggest price guaranteeTopic:Retail IndustryPhoto shows A person in a Bunnings apron stands in a Bunnings aisle.Is Chalmers prepared to follow Keating into the 'slaying' business?AAnalysis by Alan KohlerPhoto shows Jim Chalmers walks into QT smiling.Australian bomb disposal worker killed in UkraineTopic:Unrest, Conflict and WarPhoto shows ukrainelandminesPopular nowPM unveils reshuffled Labor ministryLIVEAustralian bomb disposal worker killed in UkraineTopic:Unrest, Conflict and WarPhoto shows ukrainelandminesOne child is slapped, another vomits metal hooks: Inside an Australian childcare giantTopic:Child CarePhoto shows A still from a Snapchat video shows a baby on a bouncer crying.Related topicsLandslidesMccraeMelbourneTop StoriesMichelle Rowland to become attorney-general as PM unveils new cabinetTopic:Government and PoliticsOne child is slapped, another vomits metal hooks: Inside an Australian childcare giantTopic:Child CareThe 9,000-product catch behind Bunnings's biggest price guaranteeTopic:Retail IndustryIs Chalmers prepared to follow Keating into the 'slaying' business?AAnalysis by Alan KohlerAustralian bomb disposal worker killed in UkraineTopic:Unrest, Conflict and WarJust InVictoria denies it has delayed meeting its Gonski school funding targetsTopic:Education4m ago4 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 4:19amGambling giant opposes Hobart stadium it says will 'dominate the landscape'Topic:Urban Development and Planning23m ago23 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 4:00amAustralian bomb disposal worker killed in UkraineTopic:Unrest, Conflict and War48m ago48 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 3:34amMcCrae homeowners tell landslide inquiry of daughter's escapeTopic:Landslides59m ago59 minutes agoMon 12 May 2025 at 3:23amMore Just InBack to top