New Zealand: Several missing in Mount Maunganui slip, two more unaccounted for in Welcome Bay landslide

Several people, including a young girl, are missing after landslides struck New Zealand on Thursday.

Following a lashing of heavy rain, some locations across the North Island became unstable, including a holiday park filled with families.

A girl is missing from the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, at the foot of Mauao, after a slip hit the popular tourist spot at about 9.30am local time.

Local media are reporting that several other people are missing from that site as well.

Two people are unaccounted for after a separate landslide struck nearby Welcome Bay, with emergency services searching for people using sniffer dogs.

Tim Anderson, the police district commander superintendent, said authorities could not confirm how many people are missing in the Mauao landslide, but it is believed the number is in the “single figures”.

Australian Sonny Worrall told TVNZ he ran away from the landslide, with a caravan coming toward him.

“Looking behind me, there was a caravan coming right behind me.”

He had been swimming in hot pools when the landslide happened.

“People were in the pools, they were jumping out, running, they were screaming. It was insane, I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“I’m still shaking from it now.”

“It all happened in a flash, I was definitely fearing for my life.”

Mark Mitchell, New Zealand’s police minister who is currently at Mt Maunganui, told the New Zealand Herald the entire area is being searched for people that might be trapped.

“They’re working as quickly as they can but, of course, when you’ve got unstable ground they also have to make sure it’s safe for first responders,” he said.

“It’s heartbreaking.

“As parents you imagine what it’s like, it’s very, very tough.”

The ABC is reporting that evacuation centres have been set up near Mt Maunganui, with the local surf lifesaving club being used as the central point. The Otumoetai Church of Christ is also open for people needing shelter.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told the ABC it is still unclear if any Australians have been affected in the landslide.

This comes as red weather warns have been issued across several regions in New Zealand.

In Northland and Tairawhiti, towns including Oakura have suffered huge flooding, with some communities cut off.

There are also fears for a man in his 40s swept away in his car in the swollen Mahurangi River, north of Auckland, on Wednesday, while a passenger was able to scramble to safety.

Another couple in Welcome Bay, near Tauranga, were also rescued after a landslip hit their house, with one seriously injured.

The red weather warnings issued by MetService are reserved for only the most concerning events.

People have been trapped on rooftops in Tairawhiti, where Mark Law - the helicopter pilot involved in rescue efforts after the deadly 2019 Whakaari-White Island volcanic eruption - is again helping out.

Photos of the region on social media show vast flooding, with forestry slash among the debris.

Thousands of people, in Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti, were also left without power from the storm and flooding.

This week’s alert is the first rain-related red warning to hit the same area since Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023, killing 11 people and causing $A8 billion in damage.

Two search and rescue experts were among those killed as they scoured a property in Auckland’s west coast.

- with AAP