New Zealand could see more deadly landslides as climate crisis triggers intense storms, experts warn

"New Zealand could experience an increase in landslides its most deadly natural hazard as global warming triggers more intense and frequent storms, experts have warned in the wake of two landslide tragedies in the North Island. New Zealand's landscapes are scarred with the evidence of landslides they are responsible for more than 1,800 deaths since written records began more than earthquakes and volcanoes combined."

"In January, a series of tropical storms swept through the North Island, bringing torrential rain and causing two fatal landslides. On Thursday morning, a landslide crashed into a holiday park, in Mount Maunganui in the eastern city of Tauranga, burying six people. Authorities have confirmed they are unlikely to be alive. Earlier that morning, another landslide tore through a house south of the city, killing two."

"On Wednesday, Tauranga city council evacuated 150 people from 30 homes in to assess a new slip posing a risk to life. As it grapples with the tragedies, questions have emerged over how the country can better protect itself from landslides and the increasingly extreme weather that can trigger them. New Zealand sits on a tectonic boundary, which pushes up land and creates slopes, and has a maritime climate with high rainfall factors, which combined, make it prone to landslides."

New Zealand faces increasing landslide risk as climate warming intensifies tropical storms and brings heavier rainfall. Landslides have caused over 1,800 recorded deaths, exceeding fatalities from earthquakes and volcanoes. Recent January storms produced torrential rain that triggered multiple fatal landslides, including one that buried six people at a holiday park and another that killed two. Evacuations and assessments followed due to new slips posing risks to life. Geology on a tectonic boundary and a maritime climate with high rainfall create steep slopes prone to failure. Widespread land-use change, including deforestation and cutting slopes for transport and housing, has reduced landscape resilience. Improved use of susceptibility mapping to guide planning is needed.

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