In the wake of devastating landslides in New Zealand, at least two individuals have lost their lives, and several children are still unaccounted for. The natural disaster has caused immense destruction, particularly impacting foreign tourists, including Australians. Harrowing footage reveals the extent of the damage as caravans, tents, vehicles, and toilet facilities were smashed by the landslide, triggered by unprecedented rainfall in recent days.

The tragedy unfolded early in the morning at 4:50 a.m. when a landslide struck a residence in Welcome Bay, located on New Zealand’s North Island. Two people managed to escape the perilous situation, but sadly, two others who were trapped inside the house were later found deceased, according to emergency management minister Mark Mitchell.

As the morning progressed, emergency services were summoned to another disastrous scene at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, a popular destination on the North Island. Here, the dire situation continues as multiple children remain missing, adding to the urgency and heartbreak of the ongoing rescue efforts.

Another two people managed to escape the house, while the bodies of two who were trapped inside were recovered hours later, emergency management minister Mark Mitchell said.

Later the same morning, emergency services were called to the second slide at the popular Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on New Zealand’s North Island, where multiple children remain unaccounted for.

The Beachside Holiday Park has since been evacuated, and the public is urged to avoid the area, as emergency responders launch a desperate search for those feared trapped.

Rescue workers have said there are no signs of life at the campsite, while Mitchell confirmed ‘at least one young girl’ is among those unaccounted for. Police Superintendent Tim Anderson added that the number of people missing was in the ‘single figures’.

Mitchell told RNZ that sections of the east coast resembled ‘a war zone’, with helicopters deployed to rescue families sheltering on rooftops from flooding, and local states of emergency declared in five regions in Northland and the East Cape.

A landslide smashed into a campsite in rain-swept northern New Zealand on January 22, leaving multiple people missing under tonnes of mud

Multiple children are among those unaccounted for after a large landslide destroyed the popular Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on New Zealand’s North Island

Rescuers and fire crews work near the site of a landslide at the base of Mount Maunganui

The Beachside Holiday Park has been evacuated, and the public is urged to avoid the area, as emergency responders launch a desperate search for those feared trapped

Australian Sonny Worrall 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.’

The NZ Herald spoke to two people who had been in the hot pools near the campsite when the landslide struck.

Bruce Cortesi reportedly saw the landslide first and had pointed out ‘how the trees are moving’ to his friend Olly Collier. Cortesi had immediately raised the alarm, calling for people to run.

Cortesi told the Herald that everyone began running, and they looked back and saw a ‘big caravan’ had come crashing down into the large swimming pool.

They said some people escaping the pools had ‘dirt on their faces’. He added that while the landslide looked like it was moving slowly, it came down in ‘seconds’.

A woman who warned others of the landslide just moments before she was buried in rubble is being hailed a hero as desperate search efforts continue.

She frantically pulled campers from their beds at 5am and warned them of danger so they could start packing up to leave. 

In a tragic twist, the same woman later became trapped in a toilet block along with several others when the hillside completely collapsed a few hours later, at about 9.30am on Thursday. 

The amenities block was buried in the landslip, with rescuers hearing terrified screams for help, but being unable to hear further cries after about 15 minutes.  

‘I just want you to know that one of the women that’s in that shower block, she was a hero,’ a witness, who didn’t want to be named, told the New Zealand Herald. 

‘She went around at 5 o’clock this morning, and she got us all out of bed, and she woke us all up so that we could move out… and she’s not out.’

The mangled toilet block landed on top of caravans 20 metres from where it initially stood. No one has yet been rescued from the rubble. 

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.’ 

Mark Tangney was among the first rescuers on scene after he heard screams and saw holidaymakers fleeing the campground.

‘There were six or eight other guys there on the roof of the toilet block with tools just trying to take the roof off because we could hear people screaming ‘help us, help us, get us out of here’,’ Mr Tangney told the New Zealand Herald.

Australian tourist Sonny Worrall (pictured) was among those caught up in a horror landslide

A search is underway by local emergency services for missing people at Mount Maunganui in Tauranga on January 22, 2026

The landslide caused extensive damage to caravans, campervans and vehicles

‘We went hard for about half an hour, and after 15 minutes, the people that were trapped, we couldn’t hear them anymore.’

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 the 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.’

He also added that the country is ‘heavy with grief’ after the ‘profound tragedy’ of the recent weather. 

‘The weather events of the past 48 hours have been a profound tragedy, claiming lives and devastating livelihoods,’ he wrote on X.

Luxon leads tributes for ‘the families who have lost loved ones, and with those whose family members remain unaccounted for’.

‘These losses are deeply shattering, and New Zealand is heavy with grief,’ he added.

He goes on to commend the efforts of first responders, adding that ‘amid this tragedy, we have once again seen the very best of New Zealand.’

A desperate search continues for campers feared trapped after a massive landslide

Multiple children are among those feared missing at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park

Police and officials stand following a landslide while a search is underway by local emergency services for missing people at Mount Maunganui in Tauranga on January 22, 2026

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 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.