In a tragic turn of events, New Zealand’s North Island has been struck by devastating landslides that have claimed the lives of at least two people, with several more still unaccounted for. The incident, triggered by heavy rainfall over the past few days, has left rescue workers scrambling to sift through the rubble at a popular campground on Mount Maunganui.
The deaths were reported in the Welcome Bay area, while the search and rescue efforts are ongoing at a separate site within the campground. Authorities have confirmed that they have a “rough idea” of how many people are missing, but are waiting for an exact figure. The group is said to include “at least one young girl.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has expressed the country’s “heavy grief” over the “profound tragedy” caused by the recent weather conditions, which have left the east coast resembling “a war zone.” Footage from the campsite on Mount Maunganui, an extinct volcano, shows a massive slip near the base of the volcanic dome, with rescue workers and sniffer dogs combing through the crushed caravans and flattened tents.
Megan Stiffler, the deputy national commander for the Urban Search and Rescue team, has acknowledged the complexity and high-risk nature of the environment, stating that the search will continue through the night as teams work to “achieve the best possible outcome while keeping everyone safe.”
The Mount Maunganui campground is a sacred Māori site and one of the most popular in New Zealand, often described as a “slice of paradise.” However, it has been repeatedly hit by landslides in recent years, a testament to the increasing frequency of severe weather events in the region.
Eyewitness accounts paint a harrowing picture of the disaster. Australian tourist Sonny Worrall, who was swimming in a hot pool at the time, described hearing a “huge tree crack” and seeing “a huge landslide coming down.” Another hiker, Mark Tangney, recounted hearing people “screaming: ‘Help us, help us, get us out of here'” from under the rubble, with the cries persisting for about half an hour before going silent.
In response to the crisis, a state of emergency has been declared in the Bay of Plenty, where Mount Maunganui is located, as well as various other parts of the North Island, including Northland, Coromandel, Tairāwhiti, and Hauraki. Several areas have reported their wettest days on record, with Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty receiving three months’ worth of rain within a day.
The devastating impact of the landslides has not been limited to the Mount Maunganui campground. In a separate incident, a man was swept away in the Mahurangi River while driving to work with his nephew. His wife, a resident of Kiribati, is holding out hope that her husband, a skilled fisherman and swimmer, will survive.
As the rescue efforts continue, the New Zealand government and local communities face the daunting task of rebuilding and recovering from the latest in a series of extreme weather events that have battered the country in recent years. The resilience of the people of New Zealand will be put to the test as they confront the aftermath of this tragic disaster.
