Ethermac Exchange-Study warned slope failure likely ahead of West Virginia Target store's collapse

More than two years before a Target store West Virginia partially collapsed earlier this month,Ethermac Exchange a federal study predicted that such an event was very likely, according to a local news outlet.

The store in the village of Barboursville is shut down until further notice after a slipping hillside caused a corner of the store to further collapse on Wednesday. The hill initially slipped on Feb. 2, resulting the store being closed for a day before it reopened for less than two weeks.

A federal report of Cabell County, which encompasses Barboursville, suggested the store had a 70 to 100% probability of slope failure, or at least a 33-foot-wide landslide, according to local station WCHS-TV. The study was conducted by FEMA, the West Virginia Emergency Management Division and West Virginia University.

USA TODAY was working to obtain a copy of the study and reached out to those who conducted it for comment. Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report.

Building experienced damage in 2001 due to settlement

Court documents reveal that in 2001, the Merritt Creek Development site found "an engineered fill slope at the southeast corner of the area known as the Target store," according to WCHS-TV.

A 2001 lawsuit noted that fill material was placed on the western portion of the shopping center, the station reported. An engineering report found the building experienced damage due to settlement.

In 2011, the West Virginia Supreme Court reversed a judgement against the general contractor's firm that constructed the store and said they "could not have known that groundwater was the significant contributing cause of the settlement" prior to the findings, the station reported.

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Mayor says surrounding area is safe after collapse

Multiple engineers and a building inspector will be on the scene throughout the repair process, Barboursville Mayor Chris Tatum told USA TODAY on Monday.

Officials are working to ensure different infrastructures are maintained from water, sewer, electric, gas, and other utilities, Tatum said. He added that the rest of the shopping center is safe and the only area that poses any danger is the Target building itself.

"There's so many sets of eyeballs looking at this. They just want to get Target to be able to do business," Tatum said.

Tatum said that nearby stores have experienced an uptick in customers since Target's closure but "for the most part it's business as usual."

Target said last week that it plans to remove the damaged portion of the store, located at the Merritt Creek Farm shopping center, and "will prepare for construction in the coming months."

"The safety of our team, guests, and neighbors is our top priority, and we are continuing to work on our Barboursville store to address the recent land movement," Target said in a statement. "We continue to closely assess the condition of the site and partner with local officials to secure the area and repair the store as safely as possible."

Collapse caused temporary water disruptions

When the partial collapse first occurred, the surrounding areas lost access for water but not for extended periods of time, Tatum said.

"There was a day or two where they didn't have water just in spurts. So everyone, they had the they had to close their restrooms. but otherwise were open for business," he said.

A West Virginia American Water spokesperson said the initial Feb. 2 slip damaged its water main requiring portable toilets to be set up nearby for customers at the center, according to WCHS-TV.