Eight people have been killed or are missing in two landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in New Zealand
Substantial parts of New Zeealand have been suffering extreme rainfall – yet again – causing floods and landslides. The most serious event to date occurred at a camp site at Mount Maunganui on the Bay of Plenty in the North Island. Here, a landslide devastated a campsite close to the coast. Unfortunately, January is the main summer holiday period in New Zealand.
Stuff has a video of the landslide as it occurred. Meanwhile, The Guardian has a Youtube video with imagery of the aftermath:-
This still shows the basic components of the failure:-
The location is reported to be the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park. This makes the location [-37.63234, 176.17507]. This is Google Earth image of the site:-
The image suggests a complex geology, with maybe a hint of previous landslides (this is very speculative). The geology of this area is primarily volcanic rocks, which may indicate a high landslide susceptibility. The images of the aftermath appear to suggest deeply weathered soils, and note the amount of water flowing through the debris.
News reports indicate that at least six people are missing, some of whom are children., The authorities are continuing to describe the operation at the site as a rescue.
Meanwhile, two other people were killed by an early morning landslide at Welcome Bay Road in Papamoa, also on the Bay of Plenty. This appears to have occurred at about [-37.7231, 176.20896]. One News has an image of the aftermath of the event that appears to show multiple shallow landslides on the same hillside.