It was rainning a lot? or from nothing it colapsed?

Heavy rain, melting snow pack, an earthquake, and an already unstable hillside seem to be the contributing factors.

• Winter hits hard in this area, lots of rain, snow, and melting ice pack. The snow pack began to melt early this year, and was exasperated by heavy rain.
• A fault line runs through Mount Higgin's and the surrounding foothills - it was common for us to feel small quakes when living there. Ten days before the slide, there was a small earthquake they believe was part of the cause.
• The news reports that a geomorphologist/scientist working for the government warned 15 years ago about the potential for a catastrophic landslide in the fishing village, claiming in his report that "the soil on the steep slope lacked any binding agent that would make it more secure, and that the underlying layers of silt and sand could give way in a "large catastrophic failure."

And still people wanted to be there...

When you buy a house (at least here in the states), you trust that environmental studies deemed it safe. The study that was done 15 years ago was never released until now The area is pristine, and stunningly beautiful. If safe, then yes, you would!