“Terrifying” is how Luke Hanan described the frantic search for his five children after a mudslide folded his house in two in Tauranga on Saturday.
A landslide crashed into homes on Egret Ave in the Tauranga suburb of Maungatapu about midnight after torrential rain hit the North Island, causing devastating floods in Auckland and landslips across the Auckland region, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
Twenty-four homes have been evacuated due to the large slip.
Hanan was asleep alongside his partner Teresa Hodgson and the kids still awake “spread out around the house” when they heard a rumble that sounded like an earthquake.
“At about 11.45pm, we heard quite a loud bang … just as we jumped out of bed, the next part of the experience happened which basically felt like probably one of the biggest earthquakes we’d ever been in.
”They put a mattress down through a window to get out and slid onto a car which their room ended up sitting on top of a car.”
“That was probably the scariest part of the whole thing - just not knowing where they were and coming outside and seeing the dirt all over the house thinking they [the other three kids] were just buried.”
Once outside, emergency services were there and took care of them.
Hanan said the house “snapped in half and then slid and sort of rolled over itself”.
“We were lucky to get out alive, it’s amazing, to be honest. It was a mission to find three of them [kids] and we dragged [them]out through the windows.
“We were smashing windows to try and get to the kids I couldn’t find three of them for five or so minutes. Today we are spaced out and still can’t get over what happened.
“We are still trying to get our head around what happens next.”
The kids were “a bit shaken up and probably nervous about the next few days but I think eventually they will get over it.”
Hanan said he had only completed extensive renovations on his house at 4pm yesterday. He went back to the site today and said neighbours had rallied around the family and they were also ‘’devastated’'.
The house was destroyed he said and they had just changed insurance companies on Friday.
“I could smell dirt, like lawn. Dave said there was a second slip, and he saw trees sliding down the bank.”
Resident Rebecca Hayes, whose house was also damaged in the slip, said luckily she had told her son Campbell to sleep upstairs, as she was worried about him sleeping in the back room.
“There was a huge rumble like an earthquake. I can’t describe the noise. I got out of bed and was standing in the rain outside my bedroom. The front door was gone, and the garage, with all our cars, including speedway cars - they are munted and toast. We are so grateful to be alive. I was shocked when I went outside - one of the kids from next door was buried. We were so worried.”
Campbell Hayes said he was awake upstairs playing his Xbox when he heard a big crack and the power went off.
His brother Mikaere, who was in the room next to the garage, said he was asleep and just thought it was people banging about upstairs.
“I walked out of my room and turned left and there was a huge hole in the garage, full of rubble. It was a bit nerve-racking.”
Council building inspectors and Geotech engineers are onsite evaluating the damage and assessing the safety of the area.
Tauranga City Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said: “Our thoughts are with all those affected and the residents who have been evacuated from their homes.”
“Though the rain has eased, we’re not out of the woods yet and I want to reiterate the message to please stay away from any flooded areas.
“The water may look calm, but those conditions can change really quickly, with devasting consequences.
“Thank you to all those working to keep our communities safe.”
Fire and Emergency services have also attended 63 callouts in the Bay of Plenty over the weekend, including two rescues, two “priority one” incidents, where there is a confirmed risk to people, and 23 “priority two” incidents, where there is a potential risk to people.
Available support
Accommodation support
In the first instance, affected residents should contact their insurance companies and check policies for emergency accommodation cover, as residents will need to pay or make arrangements with their insurers for payment for short-term accommodation. If your property is a rental, contact your property manager or landlord.
Financial support
Contact the Ministry of Social Development on 0800 559 009 or through their website: www.workandincome.govt.nz.
For support with anxiety, distress or mental wellbeing, call or text 1737 to talk with a trained counsellor for free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For any other welfare advice and support requests associated with this weather event please call Tauranga City Council’s call centre staff on 07 5777 000.