{"id":245577,"date":"2026-01-22T05:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T05:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/245577\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T05:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T05:14:11","slug":"oakura-cut-off-in-both-directions-could-take-weeks-to-fix-slip-damage-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/245577\/","title":{"rendered":"\u014cakura cut off in both directions, could take weeks to fix slip damage – mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

\nA drone image captures the massive slip at Helena Bay Hill in Northland, cutting off \u014cakura Bay.
\nPhoto: Supplied \/ Ng\u0101tiwai Trust Board\n<\/p>\n

Whang\u0101rei Mayor Ken Couper says it could take weeks to fix a massive slip blocking the road to \u014cakura.<\/p>\n

Couper said the slip came down on Wednesday night at Helena Bay Hill on what was known as the Old Russell Road.<\/p>\n

With the road to the north closed since Sunday<\/a> by a bridge washout, \u014cakura was now cut off in both directions.<\/p>\n

“That slip is a bit of a problem because we have to get some heavy machinery up to the top of it, because it’s so big they won’t be able to excavate at the bottom without danger,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It could take a couple of days before they even start to get a good idea on how long it’s going to take to clear it.”<\/p>\n

Fixing the slip was likely a matter of weeks, not days, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Whang\u0101rei<\/p>\n

\nWhang\u0101rei mayor Ken Couper looks at the latest information.
\nPhoto: Kim Baker Wilson \/ RNZ\n<\/p>\n

\u014cakura and other settlements such as Punaruku were also cut off to the north by damage to Ngaiotonga Bridge.<\/p>\n

Couper said repairs to the bridge approach, which was in the Far North District, were progressing.<\/p>\n

Goods could now be handed across the bridge but it was not yet capable of taking traffic.<\/p>\n

The only other option was a “very tricky” back road which was suitable only as an emergency lifeline. It was also used when a giant slip closed Helena Bay Hill for several months in 2007.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\nA drone image captures the massive slip at Helena Bay Hill in Northland, cutting off \u014cakura Bay.
\nPhoto: Supplied \/ Ng\u0101tiwai Trust Board\n<\/p>\n

Couper said another concern was the failure of the wastewater treatment plant at \u014cakura.<\/p>\n

A team was heading there on Thursday with generators to rectify the plant.<\/p>\n

If they managed to reach \u014cakura through the “lifeline” road, they would be followed by building inspectors who would examine beachfront homes evacuated after Sunday’s deluge.<\/p>\n

Sixteen people and seven pets were evacuated, he said. Most were staying with friends and family but some were being looked after by local marae.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

\nInside the Emergency Operations Centre at Whang\u0101rei District Council.
\nPhoto: Kim Baker Wilson \/ RNZ\n<\/p>\n

Couper said it was disappointing the massive slip had hit just as the district was almost at the end of the four-day storm.<\/p>\n

“We were nearly there, and then this has come down. The roading crews have done a fantastic job out there, the locals, the farmers have responded really well and kept the resilience going, and then this happened. It’s very, very upsetting, really, but it’s just a fact of life.”<\/p>\n

His message to residents in cut-off areas was to “lean on each other, keep up the cooperation that you’ve demonstrated so far, and keep in touch with the council so if you need help, we can get it to you”.<\/p>\n

Sign up for Ng\u0101 Pitopito K\u014drero, a daily newsletter<\/a> curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A drone image captures the massive slip at Helena Bay Hill in Northland, cutting off \u014cakura Bay. Photo:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,47,111,43,139,69,49,46,44,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-245577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-audio","9":"tag-current-affairs","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-podcasts","15":"tag-public-radio","16":"tag-radio-new-zealand","17":"tag-rnz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}