New aerial photos reveal scale of Helena Bay hill slip damage

Landslide clearance work is expected to be completed by June, when Whangārei District Council will look at what sort of roading repairs may be required.

The slip is blocking the main southern entrance road to the severe-weather-hit Whangaruru coast.

Ōakura community members at the Civil Defence recovery workshop next Thursday will also hear about the Kāiikanui Rd southern detour and their community’s storm-damaged hall.

At the top of the massive Helena Bay Hill landslide and a month into the hands-on part of the clean-up job, diggers fill one of 15,000 truckloads carrying away the slip’s 250,000 tonnes of debris. Slip clearance work started on February 25 after several weeks of planning. Photo / Fulton Hogan

The interactive workshop aims to provide on-the-ground recovery information after Ōakura and surrounds were hit by destructive weather in January, when more than a summer’s worth of rain fell overnight.

Specialist Whangārei District Council Civil Defence recovery team staff will be at the workshop to update the community on larger-scale issues, including the Helena Bay hill slip, which is expected to take 15,000 truckloads to clear.

Staff will also cover more localised weather event consequences with individual Ōakura property owners who might need more information or help.

The workshop will be held at the Ōakura sports complex in the settlement’s Wharua Rd from 2pm-4pm.

The landslide that hit Ōakura’s community hall, public toilets, business and homes can be seen in this photo of the coastal settlement. Photo / Susan Botting

It is predominantly angled towards residents, bach owners and others dealing with issues in the coastal settlement of Ōakura, but people outside the coastal settlement can also attend.

The workshop will also provide updates about the geology of the slip that hit Ōakura’s community hall and resulted in it being red-stickered, along with the community’s adjacent public toilets.

In a recovery milestone, the public toilets were reopened on Thursday.

The 17km Kaiikanui Rd detour route, now two months on from its January 22 introduction, will also feature at the workshop.

Ōakura community hall was badly damaged by a slip on Sunday, January 18. Photo / Denise Piper

Ōakura wastewater will also be discussed. Properties that are not yet on the coastal settlement’s reticulated sewerage system will be able to find out about joining it, as part of efforts to reduce sewage from septic tanks contaminating floodwaters.

The southbound pilot vehicle arrives with its convoy at the southern end of the Whangaruru coast’s Kāiikanui Rd detour. Photo / Susan Botting

The workshop focuses solely on Whangārei District Council Civil Defence recovery.

It comes after a number of earlier multi-agency, on-the-ground recovery hubs around the weather-hit Whangaruru district. These, in contrast, brought together a wider range of organisations involved in emergency response work.

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.