Number of people missing in ‘single figures
‘Police Superintendent Tim Anderson said the number of people missing was in the “single figures”.
No survivors or bodies had been recovered by late evening from the Mount Maunganui rubble, where dogs were being used to search for victims, Mr Mitchell said.
Earlier, north near Warkworth, a man remained missing after floodwaters swept him from a road on Wednesday morning as heavy rain lashed large swathes of the North Island, a police statement said.
Stuti Mishra22 January 2026 08:38
At least two killed in landslides in New Zealand
At least two people were killed when landslides hit a house and campground in New Zealand, while emergency crews were trying to rescue others buried in rubble, officials said.
The first hit a house in the community of Welcome Bay on New Zealand’s North Island at 4.50am, police said.
Two people escaped the house, and 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 a second slide at the base of nearby Mount Maunganui.
The rubble hit Beachside Holiday Park in a town named after the extinct volcano.
Stuti Mishra22 January 2026 08:26
