Several people missing after landslide in New Zealand

Rescue teams continue searching for missing people after a landslide at a Mount Maunganui campsite in northern New Zealand. Heavy rains forced evacuations, closed roads, and left thousands without power across the North Island.

Reuters

22 January 2026 at 07:09:13

Several people missing after landslide in New Zealand

An aerial view of an area affected by a landslide triggered by heavy rains, in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand January 22, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video.

Amy Till/Reuters

Rescue workers in northern New Zealand searched for several missing people on Thursday (January 22), after a landslide at a campsite triggered by heavy rains.

Homes were evacuated and roads closed as the heavy rain hit almost the entire eastern board of the North Island. The downpour also caused widespread damage and left thousands without power.

The landslide happened at 9:30 a.m. local time (2030 GMT Wednesday), sending rubble barrelling down on the campsite in Mount Maunganui, a popular tourist spot on the northern coast of New Zealand. Emergency services are working to locate anybody who remains in the area, with New Zealand Police Superintendent Tim Anderson saying that it was still possible to find someone alive.

New Zealand forecaster MetService has lifted all weather warnings in the North Island as the tropical low moves east. Some warnings remain in place for the South Island, but they are expected to ease on Thursday, it added.

Production: James Redmayne/Reuters