New Zealand Landslide Horror at Mount Maunganui Campsite

Published: 23 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

The sound came first. A deep, violent cracking that cut through the morning air, followed by a rumble so powerful it felt as though the ground itself had inhaled before collapsing. Moments later, a vast section of mountainside tore free and thundered downwards, burying caravans, tents and vehicles at a popular campsite on New Zealand’s North Island. For those who witnessed it, the landslide at Mount Maunganui was not just a natural disaster but an overwhelming sensory assault, one that will linger long after the earth has settled.

“It was almost like the air pressure changed,” says local resident Alister McHardy, who was nearby when the mountainside gave way. “It was a real powerful event. There was cracking everywhere, people screaming, car alarms going off. It was the sound of mayhem.”

Aerial images taken after the collapse show the scale of destruction: a raw, brown scar gouged into the green slope of Mount Maunganui, crushed roofs barely visible beneath tonnes of soil, and trees left jutting at unnatural angles, stripped of their roots and stability. What had been a lively campsite filled with families enjoying the summer school holidays was transformed in seconds into a disaster zone.

The landslide struck at about 9.30am on Thursday, triggered by days of heavy rainfall that had soaked much of the North Island’s east coast. Soil and debris cascaded down onto the busy campsite below, catching many people completely unaware. Two people are confirmed dead, including a Chinese citizen, while police say up to six others may still be missing, among them children. As of Friday, rescue teams had heard no further calls for help from beneath the rubble, deepening fears for those unaccounted for.

McHardy, who has lived near the mountain for years, says the warning signs were there long before the catastrophic collapse. He had gone out at sunrise that morning to fish and noticed what he described as a “mountain of soil” at the northern end of the beach, adjacent to the slopes of Mount Maunganui. Alarmed by what he saw, he contacted emergency services and the local council to report the instability.

Drawing on his eight years of experience working as an underground miner, McHardy says it was clear to him that the ground was still moving and that further slips were likely. At the time, people were walking along tracks at the top of the slope, unaware of the danger beneath their feet. He spotted tents pitched just metres from the base of one of the unstable sections and took it upon himself to wake campers and urge them to move away from the area.

After waiting for around an hour and a half, McHardy crossed to the other side of the mountain to fish at Pilot Bay, believing he had done what he could. It was while he was walking back to his car that he heard the noise he will never forget. The “almighty cracking” echoed across the bay, followed by the roar of earth in motion.

He ran back towards the campsite, navigating falling debris and chaos as the landslide continued to shift. For around ten minutes, he and other bystanders tried to help those caught up in the collapse before emergency services arrived. Helicopters soon filled the sky, sirens pierced the air and search teams began the painstaking process of trying to locate survivors.

“The sirens made it difficult,” McHardy recalls. “We were trying to listen for ground noise, for voices, and we needed silence for that. But everything was happening at once.”

In the immediate aftermath, witnesses reported hearing voices calling out from beneath the debris. Rescue teams worked urgently, but as hours passed without further signs of life, hope began to fade. By Friday, officials confirmed that no additional voices had been heard, though the search continued.

The disaster has sent shockwaves across New Zealand, a country already grappling with the effects of severe weather and flooding in recent days. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who visited flood-affected areas on Friday, described the landslide as an “absolutely tragic” event and acknowledged the deep anxiety faced by the families of those still missing.

“This is a highly anxious time,” Luxon said, after meeting with some of the grieving families. He added that while nothing could ease their pain, they had told him they felt supported by emergency services and their communities. “New Zealand is full of grief today, and we grieve with them,” he said.

Local authorities have warned that the danger is far from over. Tauranga mayor Mahe Drysdale said there had been no progress in locating the missing and stressed that the area remained unstable. Continued rain and shifting ground have made it impossible to bring in heavy machinery at full capacity, slowing rescue efforts and increasing the risk to search teams.

“That uncertainty of not knowing where people are, or when we might have answers, is incredibly hard for families,” Drysdale told Radio New Zealand. “We’re here with them, but it’s a very difficult wait.”

New Zealand police commissioner Richard Chambers echoed those concerns, saying the scale of the disaster and the ongoing risk of further slips could delay recovery efforts for days. He urged patience and understanding from the public as teams worked in hazardous conditions.

“We appreciate that everybody is anxious and waiting for answers,” Chambers said. “But we also have to be very careful. This is an extremely dangerous site.”

Fire and emergency crews have described the operation as complex and high risk. Assistant national commander David Guard said teams were methodically clearing layers of debris, aware that any sudden movement could trigger another collapse.

“We are operating in a very challenging environment,” Guard said. “But we will continue the operation until the search is complete.”

The tragedy has resonated beyond New Zealand’s borders. The Chinese ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong, confirmed on social media that one of the victims was a Chinese citizen, expressing condolences to the bereaved family and gratitude to rescuers working at the site.

For McHardy, the devastation is deeply personal. Mount Maunganui, he says, has always been his sanctuary, a place of natural beauty and quiet refuge. He speaks with emotion about the wildlife, the changing light and the sense of peace the area usually provides.

“It’s just a beautiful spot,” he says softly. “All these little amazing creatures, the environment. We take it for granted how awesome it is, until something like this happens.”

The Mount Maunganui region is one of New Zealand’s most popular summer destinations, drawing hikers, surfers and holidaymakers from across the country and overseas. Campsites along the coast are often full during school holidays, making the timing of the landslide particularly devastating.

The disaster is part of a wider pattern of destruction linked to intense rainfall across the North Island this week. In the neighbouring town of Papamoa, another landslide killed two people on Thursday, while a man was swept away with his vehicle north of Auckland a day earlier. Roads remain closed in several badly affected areas, leaving some towns temporarily cut off by land.

Civil defence authorities have warned residents against walking over landslide zones to access food or water, citing the risk of further collapses. Despite these warnings, desperation in some communities has led people to take dangerous routes to reach welfare hubs, highlighting the ongoing challenges posed by the extreme weather.

As rescue operations continue at Mount Maunganui, the focus remains on finding the missing and supporting grieving families. For now, the scar on the mountainside stands as a stark reminder of nature’s power, and of a moment when a peaceful campsite was shattered by an “almighty cracking” that turned a place of rest into a scene of unimaginable loss.