Auckland flooding: Landslide almost wipes out neighbour’s carport in Titirangi

Standing in front of a huge landslide outside his Titirangi home, wet dirt and gravel sticking to his boots, Andreas Lechtenborger is lost for words - so much so, that he laughs.

“It’s just,” shaking his head in disbelief.

“Far out, look at it. It’s pretty full on,” he says.

The 51-year-old has lived in the area his whole life and boasts about the house his father turned into a home decades ago, after moving to Auckland from Germany as a teenager.

When the heavy rain came on Friday, Lechtenborger said he did not sense anything was wrong or was going to go wrong just a few steps outside his property.

Andreas Lechtenborger stands by a slip that threatens his house in Titirangi Beach after heavy rain caused widespread flooding in Auckland. Photo / Brett Phibbs

“It was noisy outside that night - it just sounded like normal heavy rain. We’re surrounded by big trees, so we didn’t think anything of it.”

Not long after, however, the front of the property was nearly gone - a landslip uprooting plants, trees and debris onto the road below.

“Our house is fine, but it’s the driveway - that’s buggered.”

The landslip could have easily left things worse for Lechtenborger’s neighbour; whose car is now sitting precariously on the edge of the landslip, having almost wiped out the carport and driveway.

“Our neighbour has lived there for about 20 years and yes, she was out of there when we saw this that day. She can’t even move her car.”

Lechtenborger said their water situation was not good and they had been collecting rain water in buckets and a large gallon out the back.

His property was one of many affected by the unprecedented downpour on Friday evening, causing mass flooding in parts of the country and particularly in Auckland.

Police confirmed four properties in the suburb of Titirangi were evacuated yesterday.

A landslip on Paturoa in Titirangi, West Auckland, after heavy rain over the weekend. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Nearby Paturoa Rd has been closed off by a large kauri tree that has fallen across the road.

Just behind it is a huge landslide that has wiped out that part of the cliff and road, with mud and debris left strewn across it. Among the debris is a hot tub.

A few residents out for a walk late yesterday morning could only stand and look on in awe - one man was heard whispering: “Woah.”

Contractors were on site working to fix the overhead powerlines and were using a digger to clear the road for residents.

Lechtenborger said he and his brother lived at their family property and they did not yet have a plan about what their next move would be.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait until it dries up. I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see.”