{"id":246605,"date":"2026-01-22T19:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/246605\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T19:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:19:08","slug":"how-to-spot-a-landslide-before-it-happens-disaster-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/246605\/","title":{"rendered":"How to spot a landslide before it happens – disaster expert"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

\nA general view shows a landslide while a search is underway by local emergency services for missing people at Mount Maunganui in Tauranga. (File photo)
\nPhoto: DJ Mills\n<\/p>\n

A disaster expert says the “awful events” involving landslides this week show the importance of knowing how to tell when one is coming.<\/p>\n

Several people were trapped in two separate landslides in the Bay of Plenty<\/a> on Thursday, with two confirmed fatalities in P\u0101p\u0101moa.<\/p>\n

Dr Lauren Vinnella, a senior lecturer of emergency management at Massey University’s joint centre for disaster research, said there were sometimes warning signs of a landslide to look out for.<\/p>\n

“Landslides can occur on most of the slopes we have in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

“In particular, if there are any rocks falling or small slips, it might be a sign that a larger slip is about to happen, any cracks or bulges in the ground, or doors or windows becoming hard to close or open because the frames have moved.”<\/p>\n

Vinnella said it was important to remember if a person felt as if they were in danger it was always best to act on it.<\/p>\n

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” she said.<\/p>\n

Landslide could happen very suddenly, she said, especially during rain and after earthquakes.<\/p>\n

She hoped research could inform decisions about how and whether to build on slopes.<\/p>\n

“Landslides are quite common in New Zealand and can cause considerable damage.<\/p>\n

“My thoughts are with those impacted by the recent severe weather, including those affected by the landslides.”<\/p>\n

Sign up for Ng\u0101 Pitopito K\u014drero<\/a>, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A general view shows a landslide while a search is underway by local emergency services for missing people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[48,47,273,111,43,139,69,49,46,44,45,147],"class_list":{"0":"post-246605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-audio","9":"tag-current-affairs","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-podcasts","16":"tag-public-radio","17":"tag-radio-new-zealand","18":"tag-rnz","19":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246605","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=246605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}