In an act of extraordinary bravery, a woman who sounded the alarm about an imminent landslide is being celebrated as a hero in New Zealand. Her courageous efforts came just before she found herself ensnared by the very disaster she tried to prevent. This tragic event unfolded at the popular Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on New Zealand’s North Island. With multiple children among the missing, the community remains on edge as rescue operations intensify.

The woman, whose identity remains undisclosed, is credited with saving many lives by urging campers to evacuate their tents around 5 a.m. Her warnings allowed them to begin packing and seek safety. Tragically, a few hours later, around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, the hillside gave way, burying her and others in a toilet block. Rescuers initially heard cries for help, but the voices faded after about 15 minutes, leaving a haunting silence. “I just want you to know that one of the women in that shower block was a hero,” a witness told the New Zealand Herald. “She got us all out of bed so we could move out… and she’s not out.”

The catastrophic landslide, triggered by unprecedented rainfall in the region, caught many by surprise, including foreign tourists from Australia. The destructive force flattened caravans, tents, vehicles, and toilet amenities. Rescue operations faced setbacks due to the risk of further landslides, temporarily halting efforts to reach those trapped beneath the rubble. The toilet block, once a safe haven, now rests atop caravans 20 meters from its original position. Authorities have cleared the campground and urged the public to steer clear as emergency teams press on in their search for survivors.

Australian Sonny Worrall (pictured) from Newcastle, NSW, was among dozens of holidaymakers caught up in the chaos, describing it as the scariest moment of his life. He was swimming in the nearby hot pools when he heard a tree crack. ‘I looked behind me and there was a huge landslide coming down,’ he told TVNZ. ‘I turned around and I had to jump out from my seat as fast as I could and just run. Looking behind me, there was a caravan coming right behind me. It all happened in a flash. I was fearing for my life. People were panicking everywhere.’ Rescue efforts ramped up on Thursday afternoon as the police dog squad joined search efforts. ‘We’re going right through [the night] until we’ve rescued everyone,’ Fire and Emergency NZ commander William Park told reporters. ‘It was a significant landslip and the priority was life safety. It’s a complex and high-risk environment.’

Fisherman Alister Hardy heard ‘rolling thunder and cracking of trees’, before looking up and seeing ‘the whole hillside gave way’. ‘There were people running and screaming and I saw people get bowled. There are people trapped,’ he told the New Zealand Herald. Camper Carly Morley added: ‘The toilet block up the top has been taken out with a number of caravans. It’s all slid right down through the hot pools… there’s been helicopters, surf life savers are over there helping, and they’re just trying to cut into the toilet block at the moment.’ The campground remains closed until further notice. A second landslip formed behind Mount Maunganui surf club on Thursday afternoon, forcing the building to be evacuated. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that his government was doing everything to support those affected. ‘To the emergency responders, Defence Force personnel, and all those who are putting themselves in harm’s way to keep Kiwis safe, the whole country is grateful,’ he tweeted. ‘We continue to urge people in affected areas to follow the advice of local authorities.’

More than 200km north of Auckland, Mount Maunganui is a popular coastal holiday hotspot famous for its extinct volcano, a sacred Maori site with ocean-view hiking trails. It comes after Tauranga – the closest city to Mount Maunganui – received 295mm in the 30 hours to 6am on Thursday. Huge swathes of North Island were smashed by torrential rain on Wednesday, with meteorologists MetService issuing a rare red weather warning for a ‘threat to life’ in several regions and a state of local emergency. In Warkworth near Auckland, a man in his 40s was swept away in his car in the swollen Mahurangi River, while a passenger managed to scramble to safety. Police continued their search for the missing motorist on Thursday, while further east, rescue efforts are underway for stranded locals in the remote Tairawhiti region.

People have been trapped on rooftops in Te Araroa, with Mark Law – the helicopter pilot involved in rescue efforts after the deadly 2019 Whakaari-White Island volcanic eruption – telling Radio NZ he was helping to conduct checks in the area. Another couple in Welcome Bay, near Tauranga, were also rescued after a landslip hit their house, with one seriously injured, according to local MP Tom Rutherford. Thousands of people in Northland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti were also left without power after the storm and flooding.