The campsite collapsed – the vacation turned into a disaster: “like a war zone”

Violent storms and record-breaking rains have caused widespread damage across New Zealand’s North Island in recent days, and one of the worst hits occurred at a popular camping site at Mount Maunganui. A large mudslide that hit the place left several people missing, including children, and caused heavy destruction of trailers, vehicles and utility buildings.

The avalanche hit the holiday park today (Thursday) in the morning, around 9:30 (local time), after days of particularly heavy rains. New Zealand’s Crisis and Emergency Management Minister, Mark Mitchell, said that parts of the country’s east coast “look like a war zone”, and emphasized that it was a difficult and complex situation. According to him, the emergency teams are working with full force in an attempt to reach the best possible solution, but this is a big challenge.

Eyewitnesses said that just before the landslide, a tremendous noise was heard, described as “rolling thunder” and trees collapsing. A fisherman who was in the area said that he saw the entire slope collapse at once into the campsite. According to him, people ran and screamed, and some were hurt by the drift, others were trapped under the rubble.

Aerial photographs from the area revealed harsh scenes of overturned trailers, uprooted trees and a completely destroyed area. Fire and rescue teams that arrived first on the scene reported that they heard calls for help from the avalanche. Citizens who tried to help said that they also heard voices of people trapped under the rubble.

One of the most prominent stories from the event published in local media is the story of a woman who warned her neighbors at the campsite hours before the disaster. According to the evidence, she walked among the trailers in the early morning and woke people from their sleep, while begging them to evacuate due to the danger. Later, when the slope collapsed completely, she herself was trapped inside a toilet structure buried under the mud and rubble. Witnesses said that for about 15 minutes, cries for help were heard from there, but then the voices disappeared.

The rescue efforts encountered many difficulties due to the danger of further landslides. Rescuers who tried to reach the toilet building had to retreat temporarily for fear of another collapse. At this time, no one has been rescued from the rubble in this area.

At the same time, severe injuries were also recorded in nearby areas. In Papamoa, south of Mount Maunganui, an avalanche hit a residence in the early hours of the morning. One person was seriously injured and two other people are missing. In other places, residents were rescued from the roofs of flooded houses using helicopters, kayaks and other means of rescue.

The city of Tauranga, adjacent to Mount Maunganui, received an enormous amount of rain – 295 mm in just 30 hours. The authorities declared a local state of emergency in several areas of the north island and on the east coast following the flooding, landslides and road closures.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, said that the government is doing everything it can to support the victims and thanked the emergency teams for their work. According to him, anyone who puts himself at risk to keep the citizens safe is appreciated by the entire country. The authorities warned that another weather system is expected to bring additional heavy rains, which increases the risk of landslides, flooding and falling trees in areas where the ground is already saturated with water. The public is urged to obey the instructions and avoid reaching the affected areas.