By Chinonyerem Emmanuel
Rescue teams in New Zealand are working around the clock to search for survivors after a powerful landslide struck a popular coastal campsite, leaving several people missing, including children, and causing widespread damage across parts of the North Island.
The disaster unfolded after days of intense rainfall saturated the ground, triggering a collapse that tore through structures, cut electricity to thousands, and forced evacuations in nearby communities.
The landslide hit the tourist area of Mount Maunganui on Wednesday, catching campers and residents off guard.
By Thursday, emergency workers were painstakingly sifting through rubble and mud, using helicopters, rescue dogs, and heavy earthmoving machinery in a high-risk effort to locate those still unaccounted for. Authorities said the number of missing is believed to be in the single digits, but the uncertainty has weighed heavily on families and the wider community.
“This is a complex and extremely dangerous environment,” said Megan Stiffler, a senior fire and emergency services official, noting that unstable ground continues to threaten both rescuers and survivors. Despite the risks, crews are expected to continue working through the night, carefully removing layers of debris in the hope of finding signs of life.
Police Superintendent Tim Anderson said there remains a possibility that someone could still be found alive. That hope was reinforced by early reports from the scene that voices had been heard beneath the rubble shortly after the landslide occurred.
Fire and emergency commander William Pike said members of the public and a responding fire crew initially detected sounds suggesting people were trapped. However, first responders were forced to pull back when concerns grew that further ground movement could trigger additional collapses, putting both victims and rescuers in danger.
Eyewitness accounts have underscored the suddenness and force of the disaster. One witness, Nix Jaques, told local radio she heard an “incredibly loud” roar just moments before seeing the hillside give way.
She described watching the earth surge down onto buildings, crushing an ablutions block where people were believed to be showering and violently shifting a nearby campervan that had been occupied by a family.
Beyond Mount Maunganui, the severe weather has caused chaos across much of the eastern North Island. Homes were evacuated, major roads were closed, and entire communities were temporarily cut off due to flood and landslide damage.
Although power has been restored to many areas, around 8,000 people were still without electricity on Thursday, down from an earlier peak of about 16,000.
Police also reported additional incidents linked to the storms. Two people were missing after a separate landslide struck a house in the neighboring area of Papamoa, and another person was unaccounted for after their vehicle was swept away north of Auckland.
As of the latest update, no deaths had been officially confirmed, but authorities cautioned that the situation remains fluid.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government was fully mobilized to support affected communities, emphasizing that assistance would extend beyond the immediate emergency.
“We are standing with these local communities in the response — and we will stand with them in the recovery too,” he said in a statement posted on social media.
Weather officials have since lifted all warnings for the North Island as the tropical low responsible for the heavy rains moves east.
Even so, emergency services and local authorities remain on high alert, warning that saturated ground and damaged infrastructure could pose ongoing risks.
As search efforts continue under floodlights and with the rumble of heavy machinery, the nation is watching closely, hoping that rescuers can still pull survivors from the wreckage and bring relief to families anxiously awaiting news.
Source Reuters
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