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The son of an elderly man whose Coromandel house has been red-stickered due to a slip says he owes a debt of gratitude to the handyman who rescued his father.
A massive slip came down behind the back of 95-year-old Dennis Raine’s home this morning in Thornton Bay along State Highway 25.
Raine’s son Clive told the Herald that the landslide had gone right up against the back of his father’s house and the pressure of the slip was causing the home to creak.
Clive Raine said at the time of the slip, Dennis was sleeping and had his hearing aids out.
“He did not hear the slip. It was his Thames handyman who came out to check on him, woke him and alerted authorities,” said Clive.
“We are just eternally grateful that you know he [the handyman] went above and beyond to make a special trip out just to make sure he was okay.”
A slip has smashed into a home on State Highway 25 in Thornton Bay near Thames.
The slip wreaked havoc on the road this morning after smashing into the back of another home, causing multiple evacuations and red stickers to be issued.
In the 12 hours to 2pm, 94mm of rain had fallen at Pinnacles, 46.5mm at Castlerock, 60mm at Whangamatā and 26mm at Whitianga. according to MetService.
A police spokesperson said the landslip was reported around 8.20am.
Another home, which sits above Dennis Raine’s, is also teetering on the edge of the cliff.
“So there was every possibility that house could actually come down the cliff on top of his,” said Clive Raine.
“It’s a little bit sad but I guess the good news is that he’s come out of it alive.”
95-year-old Dennis Raine was rescued from his house in Thornton Bay after a slip.
Clive Raine said his father, who is an artist, was in a state of shock and couldn’t grab anything before being taken out of the house.
“He’s got all sorts of family heirlooms and documents and everything else and they just basically had to grab him in the clothes he just put on and extract him from the house.”
The house has now been taped up and red-stickered but Clive Raine said his brother, who went to pick their father up, was able to retrieve some possessions.
Dennis Raine has lived in the house since the 90s and lived alone following the passing of his wife in 2009.
Sadly, Clive Raine suspects that the house will now have to be demolished.
“I’ve got a horrible feeling that he won’t be able to go back there and that’s devastating,” he said.
