Impacts
Tauranga landslides
Mount Maunganui
At around 9:30am on 22 January,a major landslide occurred on the popular Mount Maunganui after intense rainfall. The slip collapsed part of the hillside above the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park,burying several cabins and campervan sites,destroying a toilet block,and damaging the Mount Hot Pools. [10] Emergency services reported six people missing,including children,and launched a large‑scale search and rescue operation involving police,firefighters,and Urban Search and Rescue teams. [11] [12]
On 24 January the rescue operation in Mount Maunganui officially became a recovery,with police saying that no one would have been able to survive. [13] That same day,the police confirmed they had found human remains during the recovery operation. The deceased were identified as 50-year-old Lisa Anne Maclennan from Morrinsville, [14] 20-year-old Måns Loke Bernhardsson from Gothenburg,Sweden, [15] friends Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler from Rotorua and Susan Doreen Knowles from Ngongotaha,both 71 years old, [16] and couple Sharon Maccanico and Max Furse-Kee,both 15 years old and who attended Pakuranga College in Auckland together. [17] [18]
According to witnesses,earlier in the night before the main landslide,a small slip had impacted Maclennan's campervan. She woke up many holidaygoers at around 5:00am warning them of the danger,and many were able to move away from the base of the mountain. [19] In the hours leading up to the landslide,muddy water was seen streaming down from the hillside around the toilet block,and other slips around the mountain had resulted in the closure of walking tracks. [20]
Papamoa
At around 4:15am on 22 January,a landslide severely damaged a house on Welcome Bay Road in rural Papamoa,resulting in the deaths of two people. [21] [22] The victims were 71-year-old Chinese national Yao Fang and her 10-year-old grandson Austen Keith Richardson. [23]
On 28 January,the Tauranga City Council evacuated 150 people from 30 properties near the southern end of Truman Lane in response to a new landslip. [24]
Other impacts
On 15 January,thunderstorms across the North Island resulted in over 18,000 lightning strikes being recorded between midday and 7am the following day. [25] A tornado damaged homes in Orewa,while another occurred near Ōtorohanga. [26] On 16 January,heavy rain caused landslides in the Waioweka Gorge,trapping travellers and leading to the closure of State Highway 2 between Mātāwai and Waioweka. [27] On 18 January,heavy rain caused flooding,travel disruptions and landslides in parts of the Northland Region,including the Whangarei District,east and south of Kawakawa and the south of the Far North District. [28] The township of Ōakura was cut off after both roads into town were damaged. [29]
On 21 January,47-year-old Tekanimaeu Arobati,from Kiribati,was reported missing after he and his vehicle were swept away while trying to cross the Mahurangi River near Warkworth. [2] [30] His body was found three days later. [31] Severe weather on 21 and 22 January caused widespread damage across the Gisborne District and the Coromandel Peninsula,with landslides and flooding cutting off access to a number of towns in both areas. [32] [33] The area around Te Araroa was particularly badly affected,with one family spending the night trapped on their roof as floodwaters surrounded their home until they were rescued, [34] and others narrowly escaping landslides at a campsite in Punaruku. [35]
Bad weather continued to impact the east coast of the country over the following days,weakening as it went,affecting areas in both islands with high winds and heavy rainfall. [36] [37] On 23 January,52-year-old David Roe fell off his boat while crossing the Waioweka River after the local swing bridge had been destroyed by the weather. He was swept downstream and remains missing. [38]