Children feared among missing as landslides hit New Zealand’s North Island after days of heavy rain

Rescue teams in New Zealand are racing against time after a series of landslides triggered by intense rainfall left several people missing, including children, across the eastern side of the country’s North Island.

The most serious incident struck a holiday park in Mount Maunganui at around 9:30am local time on Thursday, when a landslide tore through campervans and a shower block during the final week of the summer school holidays. Emergency crews said multiple people were unaccounted for.

According to Radio New Zealand, two more people were reported missing after a separate landslide hit a house in nearby Papamoa. In another incident north of Auckland, a 47-year-old man was swept away when his car was caught in floodwaters while attempting to cross the Mahurangi River.

Police said the number of missing remained unclear but confirmed it was “in the single figures”. Authorities stressed that hope of finding survivors remained, though unstable ground was slowing rescue efforts.

Police District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson told reporters that “it is possible that we could find someone alive”, but declined to give further details.

Fire and Emergency Commander William Park said first responders initially detected signs of life in the debris at Mount Maunganui, but were forced to pull back because of the risk of further slips.

“My understanding was members of the public tried to get into the rubble and did hear some voices. Our initial fire crew arrived and were able to hear the same. Shortly after our initial crew arrived, we withdrew everyone from the site due to the possible movement of the slip,” Park said.

Local media cited Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell as confirming that children were among those missing.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was “actively monitoring situations across the country”, as evacuations and road closures continued across large parts of the North Island.