As it grapples with two fatal tragedies, questions emerge over how to protect the country from more landslides – its deadliest natural hazard
New Zealand could experience an increase in landslides – its most deadly natural hazard – as global warming triggers more intense and frequent storms, experts have warned in the wake of two landslide tragedies in the North Island.
New Zealand’s landscapes are scarred with the evidence of landslides – they are responsible for more than 1,800 deaths since written records began – more than earthquakes and volcanoes combined.
In January, a series of tropical storms swept through the North Island, bringing torrential rain and causing two fatal landslides. On Thursday morning, a landslide crashed into a holiday park, in Mount Maunganui in the eastern city of Tauranga, burying six people. Authorities have confirmed they are unlikely to be alive. Earlier that morning, another landslide tore through a house south of the city, killing two.
On Wednesday, Tauranga city council evacuated 150 people from 30 homes in to assess a new slip posing a “risk to life”.
