Multiple people missing in New Zealand landslip
Scores of people are missing on the North Island after a tropical storm brought heavy rainfall to the top of New Zealand and a state of emergency came into effect.
A landslide at a tourist-hit Mount Maunganui campsite on Thursday morning left “a number of people” unaware, according to New Zealand Police.
A man was swept away while others were dramatically rescued in heavy rainfall in Warkworth, north of Auckland, on Wednesday.
Large areas of the North Island were under water on Wednesday, with meteorologists MetService issuing a rare red weather warning for “threat to life” in several areas.
The storm caused almost the entire Coromandel peninsula to receive more than 200 mm of rain and the Bay of Islands to receive more than 150 mm of water on Wednesday.
Tauranga, the closest city to Mount Maunganui, received 295mm of rain in the 30 hours until 6am, before the landslide hit around 9.30am.
Local media reported screams were heard at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, where a landslide hit caravans and a shower/toilet block.
Lifeguards at Mount Maunganui, one of New Zealand’s most popular beaches, shared images of the landslide on the mountain, which also hosts popular hiking trails.
Nearby fisherman Alister Hardy told the NZ Herald he heard “thumping and tree crunching”, then looked up to see “the whole hillside collapsed”.
“There were people running and screaming and I saw people getting hit. There are people trapped,” he said.
In Warkworth, a man in his 40s was driving his car and was swept away in the swollen Mahurangi River, while a passenger managed to get to safety.
While police continued their search on Thursday, rescue efforts are continuing for local people stranded further east in the Tairawhiti district.
People were trapped on rooftops in Te Araroa and helicopter pilot Mark Law, who took part in rescue efforts following the deadly Whakaari-White Island volcanic eruption in 2019, told Radio NZ he was helping carry out checks in the area.
Another couple in Welcome Bay, near Tauranga, were also rescued after their home was struck by a landslide, with one seriously injured, according to local MP Tom Rutherford.
Thousands of people in Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti were also left without power due to storms and floods.
Red weather warnings issued by Metservice are reserved for only the most worrying events.
This week’s warning is the first red alert for rain since Hurricane Gabrielle in early 2023, which hit the same region and caused 11 deaths and A$8 billion in damage.
