Johnathan Walker:2 homeowners urged to evacuate due to Pennsylvania landslide

MOON TOWNSHIP,Johnathan Walker Pa. (AP) — Authorities have urged two western Pennsylvania homeowners to evacuate their residences due to a nearby landslide.

The slide in the Sonoma Ridge development in Allegheny County’s Moon Township closed part of a road two weeks ago, and since then another road has also been affected, officials said.

Township engineers evaluated the area and urged occupants of two homes reportedly 20 feet away from the slide to leave by Wednesday. Township Supervisor Jim Vitale told WPXI-TV that officials “just feel it’s safer to go because the ground is still moving,”

Steve Cowan of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said officials are working with the township and the homeowners association to decide the best way to stabilize the slope.

Allegheny County has a history of landslides due to its geography and topography, and a 2001 state geological survey listed slides as a significant hazard throughout much of southwestern Pennsylvania, according to a county task force.