She says this may result in another landslide in the long run.

Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) Habibah Lateh, who visited the site today, said loose sandy soil was used to fill the cut area, instead of soil that was stronger, firmer and more suitable.

She said it was normal for cut hills to be layered with suitable soil for stability. But she said the mix of loose soil on a cut area on what is a granitic bedrock was a potent mix for disaster.

Habibah said coupled with the elevated road project crossing the area, the structure won’t be on solid ground and was risky.

“I am sorry to say this but the sand that was used is not appropriate at all.

“A proper soil ought to be chosen to match the topography of the surrounding area,” said Habibah, who is USM’s Landslide, Disaster Management and Soil Erosion expert.

She said based on her preliminary findings, she felt the Friday landslide that killed nine and injured four might have been caused by erosion as a result of “flowing water”.

Habibah said rather than pointing fingers now, engineers must find a way to quickly replace the loose soil and restudy the cutting and filling done on the site.

Earlier today, she was escorted by the National Disaster Management Agency to the site for an inspection.

Search and recovery is still in progress today, despite heavy rain on the worksite of the 5km Paya Terubong Paired Road bypass project. The RM530 million project is undertaken by the city council and two private developers.

Yesterday, Penang Island mayor Yew Tung Seang had said the project will go on after the faults on the site were rectified and stressed the project was crucial for proper traffic flow on the island.