Thunderous landslide displaces hundreds

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - About 150 residents in North Beach were evacuated and several buildings declared off-limits today after a landslide partly buried apartment buildings and a strip club in a shower of rocks and dirt.

Part of the south side of Telegraph Hill thundered down shortly after 3 a.m., closing Broadway for hours but causing no injuries, authorities said.

Officials were first alerted to the slide by a building alarm at Broadway Showgirls Cabaret around 3:17 a.m. Upon arrival, firefighters evacuated about 150 people from four buildings located at 412, 426 and 432 Broadway and 455 Vallejo St., according to the San Francisco Fire Department. Heavy rains caused the slide, which is about 75 feet wide, 25 feet deep and 36 feet high, according to fire department officials.

Six buildings, including the club, were red-tagged by building inspectors, meaning no one can go inside. Several other buildings were yellow-tagged, which allows residents to retrieve belongings but they cannot stay.

(AP Photo/Ben Margot) No injuries were reported in the North Beach rock slide, but city engineers were assessing the safety of the remaining hillside as well as possible damage from the massive pile of boulders and mud lodged against an apartment building and a night club at the bottom of the hill.

Ken Ferrari, who has lived on Montgomery Street for 21 years with his father, said he managed to sleep through the falling boulders. After his apartment building was red-tagged later in the afternoon, he promptly packed some clothes and a few of his beloved cameras but managed to stay calm and collected.

“There’s not a whole lot I can do. I lived through (the Loma Prieta earthquake), and the building held up just fine then. Luckily, I work at a hotel so I should be able to stay there for a few days,” Ferrari said.

— Examiner staff and the Associated Press contributed to this report