Rotorua house badly damaged by landslide

Residents of a Rotorua house will not be able to go back into it tonight after a landslide severely damaged at least half of it this morning, Rotorua police say.

The slip happened about 7am near Lake Okareka on the Okareka Loop Road.

Sergeant Mike Membery said the three residents of the house were not at home when the landslide happened.

"One end of the house was moved considerably and is teetering on a broken bit of fence at the moment," Mr Membery said.

The slip was thought to have been caused by a feed from a watertank bursting, which may have been the result of heavy rainfall that has been lashing the country over the past 48 hours.
Mr Membery said it was a "substantial chunk of land" that was moved.

"It filled up a decent sized carport full of mud and dirt -- about the width of a house," he said.

The house itself looked like a "tidal wave" had gone through it.

"All the carpet and the lino is all wavy. Maybe half of the house has moved sideways and one end has dropped down, probably half a metre."

Mr Membery said there was still a danger of more land slipping onto the house, but homes on each side of the property were safe.

- NZPA