2h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 7:35am
Thanks for following along
And that’s where we’ll be leaving things this evening.
Here’s a recap of the day’s events:
Several people remain missing after a landslide hit the Beachside Holiday Park at the foot of Mount Maunganui in New Zealand’s North IslandThe slide came after record-breaking rain and storms in the regionAuthorities are yet to determine how many people remain trapped under the rubble. A rescue operation involving specialist teams and sniffer dogs remains ongoingA separate landslide took out a home in nearby Welcome Bay, killing two peopleNew Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is expected to visit both impacted sites tomorrowThere is no indication so far that any Australians were caught up in either landslide
You can look back at the blog to see how the day unfolded. Don’t forget to also download the ABC News app and sign up to our range of mobile alerts to stay in the know.
Thanks for joining us.
3h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 7:09am
Details about victims’ nationalities too ‘sensitive’ for disclosure, minister says
The police minister declined to give details on whether foreign nationals were caught up in the Mauao landslide, saying authorities were still “working hard” to determine that.
“I’m not going to go into details on that because it is so sensitive,” he said.
“There were some people that left the campsite that no one knew had left. So we’re still tracking people down, checking CCTV footage.
“There’s still people to be notified, so the focus is on getting that work done and providing the support to the families.”
The ABC contacted DFAT earlier today for confirmation on any Australian casualties and was told “urgent enquiries” were being made in that regard.
3h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 7:01amTwo fatalities confirmed in Welcome Bay landslip
Mark Mitchell says two bodies were recovered from a separate landslide at Welcome Bay, not far from Mauao.
Police had said at a press conference earlier that two people were able to escape, but another two remained missing.
That incident had hit and taken out a home.
3h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 6:58am
No indication of number of people missing in caravan park landslide
New Zealand’s police, emergency and recovery minister Mark Mitchell has just spoken to ABC News Channel from Auckland.
He says there’s still no update on the number of people missing in the Mount Maunganui landslide, with continually shifting earth on site hindering search efforts.
“The teams are working as hard as they can to try and recover people from the slide … but it’s a difficult and challenging site, because we could face further slides there,” Mitchell said.
He said authorities were using every tool at their disposal, including sniffer dogs, to pinpoint where people were buried. No one has been retrieved so far.
(ABC News)4h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 6:19amAt least six missing in Mauao landslide: report4h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 5:32amPM Luxon to travel to impacted areas tomorrow
New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, will be visiting the North Island regions hit by this week’s weather bomb on Friday.
RNZ reported arrangements were being made for his travels to East Cape and Bay of Plenty.
Luxon has said his government is doing “everything we can to support those impacted”.
5h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 5:27am
NZ officials have ‘rough idea’ on number of missing people
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell told Radio New Zealand authorities had a “rough idea” of the number of people impacted by the Mauao landslide, without elaborating.
Mitchell will be speaking to ABC News Channle in an hour so we should expect to hear more on this then.
He said the rescue operation would continue into the night if required.
5h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 5:01am
Storm-induced landslide prompts call for expedited decarbonisation
The landslide at the foot of Mount Maunganui today followed record-breaking rains in New Zealand’s North Island, with a spell of severe weather befalling five regions.
While landslides are common across the country, experts say they are being charged by more frequent storms, courtesy of an increasingly warming planet that has more moisture in the air.
“We have that much more flooding ‘fuel’ in the atmosphere that significant floods come much more readily now,” James Renwick, climate science professor at the Victoria University of Wellington, told the Science Media Centre.
“To stop such events becoming worse, to stop them overwhelming our abilities to adapt, we must stop adding carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the air.
“Our governments and business leaders must find ways to decarbonise the economy as soon as physically possible — and help other countries do the same.”
5h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 4:38am
Witness heard people screaming ‘get us out of here’
Hiker Mark Tangney saw people fleeing the landslide-hit campsite in Mauao and ran to help, the New Zealand Herald reported.
“I could just hear people screaming, so I just parked up and ran to help,” he told the paper.
“I was one of the first there. There were six or eight other guys there on the roof of the toilet block with tools just trying to take the roof off because we could hear people screaming: ‘Help us, help us, get us out of here’.”
Later the voices stopped, he said.
UGC footage showed a campervan flipped over after the landslide (AFP: Handout/courtesy of Facebook user Dion Siluch)
New Zealand’s Fire and Emergency commander William Pike told reporters earlier today that people at the camp had instantly tried to dig into the rubble and heard voices.
“Our initial fire crew arrived and were able to hear the same,” he said.
But rescuers soon withdrew everyone from the site because of the risk of dangerous earth movements, Pike said.
Asked if voices had been heard since then, he said: “Not that I know of, no.”
Reporting with AFP
6h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 4:06amWhat we know about the NZ landslides so far
It’s been over seven hours since the first landslide hit in Mauao, at the base of Mount Maunganui, in New Zealand’s North Island, but there’s still a lot we don’t know, including how many people were trapped, their identities and details of any potential fatalities.
If you’re just tuning in, you can get yourself up to speed with this handy explainer my colleague Max Walden from the Asia Pacific Newsroom has put together.
6h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 3:48am
Search efforts continue into evening
It’s now 4:45pm in New Zealand and police in their latest update have said the situation remains ongoing, with separate “rescue” operations continuing at Mount Maunganui and Welcome Bay Road.
An unspecified number of people remain trapped in the first landslide, while two are unaccounted for from the Welcome Bay incident, Superintendent Tim Anderson said.
“The last thing we need is rubberneckers in the area,” he said, urging for the public to keep the areas clear for emergency services to work in.
Superintendent Anderson described Thursday’s landslides as “one in 100 years events”.
(Supplied: New Zealand Police)
(Supplied: New Zealand Police)6h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 3:32amUnclear if any Australians impacted
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson has told the ABC “urgent inquiries” are underway to determine whether any Australians were caught up in this morning’s landslide.
“Our thoughts are with those affected by the landslide at New Zealand’s Mount Maunganui,” they said in a statement.
Australian nationals in New Zealand who may be in need of emergency assistance, including evacuations, can reach out to DFAT’s consular support service on +61 2 6261 3305.
7h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 3:19am
📹: Aerial of Mauao landslide
Amy Till witnessed the landslide off Mauao from a helicopter.
In this video she shot, you can see the scale of the slip, which destroyed structures and overturned vehicles at a holiday park in Mount Maunganui.
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7h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 3:07am
Lifesaving competition called off after landslide
Surf Life Saving NZ has cancelled a lifesaving sport competition that was due to be held at the Mount Maunganui club this weekend.
The Eastern Regional Championships were due to start tomorrow and run through to Sunday.
The organisation said out of respect for the family of the people who were still unaccounted for, it had decided “it would not be appropriate or logistically possible for the event to proceed this weekend”.
7h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 2:58am
Evacuation centres open
Evacuation centres have been set up in the area around Mount Maunganui.
The local surf lifesaving club is being used as an evacuation centre and community hub to provide support to emergency services and the local community.
While the surf lifesaving club is being used as the official centre, the Otumoetai Church of Christ has also opened its doors for anyone in need of shelter.
7h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 2:47am
📹: Caravan stopped centimetres short of falling into pool
Dion Siluch was at Mount Hot Pools, a swimming facility at the base of Mauao when the landslide occurred.
Video he captured and shared with RNZ shows how close a caravan from the nearby holiday park came to tumbling into a pool below.
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7h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 2:35am
Here’s the latest
If you’re just tuning in, we are currently following two search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of landslides on New Zealand’s North Island.
Here’s what we know at this stage:
New Zealand has been lashed with heavy rain which caused landslides in locations across the North IslandSeveral people, including a young girl, are unnacounted for after a slip hit a holiday park at the base of Mauao in Mount MaunganuiTwo people are missing after a separate landslip in Welcome BayRescue efforts are being hampered by unstable ground
8h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 2:18am
Witness tried to help parents missing child in aftermath of Mauao slip
A witness, Nix Jaques, was about to walk up Mauao when she heard an incredibly loud noise.
“I turned around and I could see the land coming down onto some structures,” she told RNZ.
“There were some vehicles that were moved. It came down on an ablutions block — I believe there were some people in the showers — and it shifted a campervan, there was a family with a campervan.”
She spoke to a couple missing a child and tried to help in the early stages but said emergency services arrived quite quickly afterwards.
Reporting with RNZ
8h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 2:00am
We are still trying to work out how many people are missing: police minister
New Zealand Police Minister Mark Mitchell, who is on the ground at Mt Maunganui, says emergency workers are searching the entire landslide area for survivors.
“The whole thing, anywhere we think that people might be trapped,” he has told the New Zealand Herald.
“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.
“It’s heartbreaking.
“As parents you imagine what it’s like, it’s very, very tough.”
Mitchell says emergency services are still trying to identify exactly how many people are missing and who they are.
“People left the campground and no-one knew.”
8h agoThu 22 Jan 2026 at 1:53am
Emergency services personnel are searching for people in the landslide
Emergency services are searching for people, using sniffer dogs.
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