At least two people were killed Thursday after deadly landslides struck New Zealand’s North Island. The first landslide hit a house in Welcome Bay early in the morning, where two residents escaped while authorities later recovered the bodies of two others who had been trapped inside, Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell said. Later, a second landslide swept through Beachside Holiday Park at the base of Mount Maunganui, crushing vehicles, travel trailers, and a combined shower-kitchen block. Dogs and rescue teams searched the debris, but no survivors or bodies had been found by Thursday evening. Police said the number of missing remained in the “single figures,” noting that some unaccounted-for individuals had left the campground without notifying authorities. Flooding elsewhere compounded the disaster, including a man who was swept off a road near Warkworth on Wednesday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urged residents to heed safety warnings, while survivors described chaotic scenes of debris and destruction, with one tourist calling it “the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life” in an interview with New Zealand’s 1News.
