Landslide Evacuees Settle With Prince George's County

FORT WASHINGTON, MD — Two years after a hillside collapsed, forcing residents on Piscataway Drive to evacuate, three lawsuits have been settled against Prince George’s County by homeowners.

Heavy rains in May 2014 led to the evacuation of 28 houses by emergency officials and $15 million worth of repairs to the road. County officials just celebrated the opening of the repaired road this week.

The landslide in the Piscataway Hills community near Fort Washington collapsed a portion of Piscataway Drive, knocked out water main and sewer service.

A large chunk of earth in the subdivision slid downward, felling trees and buckling the road in the 13000 block of Piscataway Drive.

In order to repair utility lines, the road and prevent further landslides, five homes were purchased by the county and demolished. Crews then sunk large structural beams into the hillside to stabilize it, reports The Washington Post.

The hold-out homeowners approved a compensation package Monday, the newspaper says. Their attorney didn’t release details of the settlements, but said the county would use FEMA disaster money to reimburse the homeowners, who also won compensation from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

»Patch file photo of landslide from WSSC