😱 1 MINUTE AGO: Mount Maunganui MASSIVE Landslide Destorys City – “It Happened So Fast” 😱

On the morning of January 21st, Mount Maunganui’s serene campground vanished beneath a torrent of mud, uprooted trees, and debris.

At exactly 9:30:12 a.m., a massive landslide swept through the Beachside Holiday Park, destroying cabins, camper vans, and local landmarks within seconds.

The event claimed six lives, including two teenagers, and left survivors grappling with shock and loss.

The disaster’s trigger was not an earthquake or seismic event but relentless, record-breaking rainfall.

Over 274 millimeters of rain fell within 24 hours—the highest daily total recorded in the region since 1910.

This deluge saturated the volcanic slopes of Mount Maunganui, pushing soil moisture to near maximum capacity by dawn.

The hillside’s ancient weak layers, already known to geotechnical experts, gave way under the immense weight.

The first warning came hours earlier at 5:47 a.m., when a small landslip tumbled down the mountain’s lower slopes, striking a camper van and waking occupant Lisa McClennon.

Her quick thinking to alert others likely saved lives, though many campers remained unaware of the impending danger.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received a 111 call at 5:50 a.m., notifying authorities of the initial slip.

Yet, despite this early sign, no evacuation order was issued for the campground.

By sunrise, muddy water streamed through the park, and council staff closed walking tracks around the mountain due to safety concerns.

However, the holiday park itself stayed open, with families continuing their routines, unaware that the mountain was already moving ominously above them.

At 8:56 a.m., the walking tracks were closed, but no mass alert or siren warned campers of the escalating threat.

Communication gaps and delayed responses would later come under intense scrutiny.

As rain continued to soak the slopes, the ground grew heavier and more unstable.

When the main collapse occurred just over 90 minutes later, it was sudden and violent.

Eyewitness videos show a massive wave of earth and debris rushing downhill, uprooting trees and sweeping away structures.

The debris field buried the public toilet block and damaged the nearby Mount Hot Pools, leaving only remnants visible above the mud.

Emergency responders arrived to a scene transformed beyond recognition.

Paths and driveways disappeared beneath meters of debris, vehicles lay crushed, and the air was thick with the smell of wet soil and broken roots.

Rescue teams faced dangerous, shifting terrain as they searched for survivors.

Despite the urgency, safety concerns slowed recovery.

New cracks appeared in the hillside, prompting temporary halts to operations.

Specialist teams relied on geotechnical advice to navigate the treacherous debris field, balancing the need to find the missing with the risk of further slides.

Investigations traced the landslide’s origin to a narrow zone between two ancient scars—old slip surfaces centuries in the making.

A 2000 geotechnical study had identified a 0.7-meter-thick layer of colluvium—loose debris prone to failure—buried beneath the surface.

Saturated by relentless rain, this layer became the perfect plane for the catastrophic slide.

Seismographs confirmed no earthquake activity preceded the collapse, supporting the conclusion that extreme rainfall alone triggered the event.

Ground penetrating radar and lidar surveys mapped the debris and slopes, revealing no large underground voids but confirming the patchwork of ancient slip surfaces.

Independent experts concurred: the landslide followed a classic pattern seen in New Zealand’s volcanic hills, where saturated weak layers fail under gravity’s pull.

The tragedy was not mysterious but a predictable consequence of natural forces pushed beyond endurance.

In response, Tanga City Council launched an independent review examining communications, hazard assessments, and decisions from the first slip through the main collapse.

Work Safe New Zealand opened a parallel investigation into safety obligations and early warning handling.

Yet, key data remain withheld from the public—high-resolution scans, synchronized seismic records, and recent geotechnical reports are yet to be released.

This lack of transparency fuels frustration among residents and scientists demanding full disclosure.

Mount Maunganui’s slopes remain unstable, and as extreme rainfall events grow more frequent across New Zealand, the margin for error narrows.

The disaster is a stark reminder that the line between normal life and catastrophe is thinning.

The challenge ahead is clear: to learn from this tragedy, improve early warning systems, enhance communication, and manage risks proactively.

The mountain’s scars tell a story not just of loss, but of resilience and the urgent need to respect nature’s limits.