Police were alerted at about 2.30am this morning after a 20-year-old man allegedly entered the landslide zone, which they say has been cordoned off for public safety.
He was arrested, and has been charged with breaching the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act, as well as careless driving.
Western Bay of Plenty Area Commander, Inspector Clifford Paxton, said the cordon is well sign-posted, and there’s no excuse for the breach.
“Police remind the public that the landslide site is a restricted area as it remains unstable and poses significant public safety concerns,” he said.
The man is expected to appear in Tauranga District Court next Tuesday.
Livestock farmers are being urged to keep their animals well fed and circulated to avoid the spread of moisture-loving parasites.
Downpours and gusts that lashed the country in recent weeks have left farmers grappling with paddocks turned to lakes, keeping stock fed and dry, and navigating cut-off tracks, roads and bridges.
Heavy rainfall and warm conditions created an optimal habitat for parasites like worms and their larvae to spread in pasture.
Wormwise manager Ginny Dodunski said the worm larvae animals ate when they were grazing lived in droplets of water.
“[The larvae] are pretty good at clinging onto the grass blades, so unless you’ve actually had land move down a hill or you heaps of water flowing through your property, they’re still going to be there.”
Dodunski said sheep and cattle were subject to different worm species, but all would thrive in pasture during wet and warm conditions.
“The conditions that we’ve got at the moment definitely favour larvae survival,” she said.
“So we’ve got to get around that with really good feeding and then thinking about how we can use our different stock classes on our farms to clean up behind each other.”
She said stock rotation and grazing management were key to preventing further spread.
“One of the worst things we could do now with our lambs and calves is have them just going round and round and round their same little area on the farm, because they will pick up lots of larvae and because they’re young, they will put out a lot more worms themselves, so they create these hotspots for themselves.”
Dodunksi said farmers could capitalise on good lamb prices and focus more on fattening up the ewes, to buffer any pasture production knocks that might come with pests and diseases this summer.
“Get rid of your lambs, get the weight back on the ewes, and get yourself set up for next year, because some of these other pests and diseases might knock some pasture production around later on. So having ewes in good condition now is going to be a bit of a buffer for some of that as well.”
She said fortunately most sheep were already shorn by now which helped prevent flystrike in summer months.
She also urged farmers to monitor for any sudden deaths and consider spore and faecal counts.
Furthermore, Beef and Lamb said farmers were reporting a proliferation of these pests and diseases, as well as facial eczema and porina.
Earth Sciences New Zealand maps showed wet soils were especially pronounced on the East Coast, Bay of Plenty and pockets of South Waikato, Manawatū and Kaikōura as of Monday.
Historic soil moisture levels and current as of Monday.Supplied / NIWA
New Zealand’s Luca Harrington during the Freeski Big Air final at the 2026 Winter OLympics.KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
New Zealand’s Luca Harrington has finished sixth in the men’s big air final at the Milan Winter Olympics, missing out on a medal.
Harrington, the reigning big air World Champion, had a great first run to sit fourth after the first round, but failed to land his second run and had a sloppy landing in his third attempt to slip down the leaderboard.
New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott’s will try to defend her women’s slopestyle title tomorrow morning after today’s final was postponed due to heavy snow.
More to come…
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Follow our live blog at the top of this page for updates.
Banks Peninsula remains cut off by road after widespread damage from flooding and slips.
Canterbury’s civil defence controller Duncan Sandeman says the focus on Wednesday will be opening roads and restoring communications.
The peninsula was pelted by ten times the monthly average rainfall in the last 48 hours. Part of State Highway 75, the main road from Christchurch to Akaroa, was closed overnight.
Follow our live blog at the top of this page for updates.
Roads damaged after floods in Akaroa.Nathan McKinnon
Attribute to Western Bay of Plenty Area Commander, Inspector Clifford Paxton:
Bay of Plenty Police have arrested and charged a man following a breach at the Mount Maunganui landslide site cordon early this morning.
At around 2.30am, Police were notified that a man had allegedly entered the Mount Maunganui landslide zone which is cordoned off for the public’s safety.
Police coordinated a response with Māori Wardens, who are watching over the site, and a 20-year-old man was arrested.
He is due in Tauranga District Court on Tuesday 24 February, charged with breaching the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act and careless driving.
Police remind the public that the landslide site is a restricted area as it remains unstable and poses significant public safety concerns.
The area is cordoned off with clear signage – there is no excuse to breach this.
Any suspicious behaviour around cordoned, or restricted, areas should be reported to Police immediately by calling 111, if it is happening now, or through 105 if it is after the fact.
You can also provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
Emergency crews were called to a Kaihu home just before midday on Tuesday but the woman was dead by the time they arrived.
Jones said the current law were “not fit for purpose” and “homicidal dogs” were scattered around Northland – with the problem worsening over years.
Very few owners of such dogs were held accountable – meaning there was no deterrent in place, he said, adding a “severe level of punishment” was needed – including heft jail terms.
Shane Jones.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Jones said the problem had been going on for “years”. But roaming dogs wasn’t so much an issue when he was growing up in Awanui, saying his father’s generation would shoot any wild and dangerous dogs.
Jones said he felt the issue had moved past a soft approach and would support any options Local Government Minister Simon Watts brought forward.
On Tuesday, Watts said he was asking officials for urgent advice after the death.
He said the Department of Internal Affairs is working on the issue with local councils to improve dog control.
Watts expected new guidelines in the second half of this year.
Kaipara District mayor Jonathan Larsen called the death tragic and a sad situation for the families.
The Kaipara District Council would not say if the dogs that attacked and killed the woman were known to animal control.
Imposing tolls on the existing Harbour Bridge won’t raise enough revenue to cover long-term costs of a new crossing, the editor of an advocacy website says.
The Infrastructure Commission has suggested a toll as high as $9 to help pay for a second crossing.
Greater Auckland editor Matt Lowrie told Morning Report that the estimated revenue from the toll is between $7 and $9 billion, while the projected costs of the crossing could exceed $20b.
When the bridge was first opened in 1959, motorists had to pay 2 shillings and 6 pence, a figure the Commission said equalled around $9 in 2025.
Tolls were removed in 1984.
Lowrie said while a second crossing is needed to provide more capacity, other payment options could be considered.
He also agreed that tolling both crossings was necessary because just tolling the new one meant people would simply continue using the existing bridge.
That would see a “multi-billion dollar piece of infrastructure … sit unused”.
Lowrie suggested a lower toll be implemented to see the impact of it.
He said the addition of the Northern Busway in 2008 had delayed the need to spend billions of dollars on a harbour crossing as the uptake from commuters had taken the pressure off the existing bridge.
Whether a toll was introduced or not, Lowrie said Aucklanders would end up paying the bulk of the cost through a road tax or fuel taxes being raised.
But the majority would come from Crown investment – and that had to be weighed up amongst the need for improvements to hospitals and schools, he said.
On Tuesday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the new crossing would be the biggest infrastructure project New Zealand has ever done.
While the new crossing would be tolled, a question remained over whether the existing bridge would be tolled as well.
“We are working our way through that. That’s a very big decision for the country to make,” he said.
Heavy blankets filled with glass beads or plastic pellets are said to improve sleep and reduce stress. Here’s the evidence on what they actually deliver.
Repeated weather events and the wider spectre of concerns about climate change can all add up to a lot of stress and anxiety, said Dr Jackie Feather, a clinical psychologist and co-convener of the New Zealand Psychological Society’s climate taskforce.
“We’ve got to take mental health seriously when it comes to people’s experiences, absolutely,” she said.
But what can you do if you feel completely powerless in the face of floods, landslides and disasters? Here’s some tips.
Climate protesters in Wellington, 30 September 2024.
Samuel Rillstone / RNZ
How can a weather forecast freak us out?
Floods and landslides trigger a primal emotional reaction, Feather said.
“We’re programmed as human beings to respond to threat – we commonly call it the fight, flight, freeze response.”
It’s barely six weeks into the year, and it’s already shaping up as one for the weather record books.
“I can sympathise with those suffering for anxiety, it has been a wet, windy and thundery start to the year,” said MetService meteorologist John Law.
“We have issued two Red Severe Weather Warnings so far this year, one on the 21st January for those regions at the top of the country, and the one on the 15th February for the rain in the central parts of the North Island.”
That’s in addition to a pile of MetService watches and lower-priority orange warnings. There have also been 45 severe thunderstorm warnings this year so far.
“It’s normal to feel stressed or anxious right now,” NZ Civil Defence noted in one of its recent social media posts this past week. “Even if you haven’t been directly affected by this severe weather event, it might bring up past memories and emotions.”
Chris Brandolino, principal scientist for forecasting at Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA), said weather agencies are seeing people becoming more and more anxious.
“We … do get occasional feedback in person about being ‘triggered’ from the prospect of big weather events (heavy rain, etc.)”
“On our social media channels there are comments that are congruent with anxiety and (severe weather) fatigue when we go through spells or periods of active weather.”
Brandolino said that when it comes to weather forecasting, a certain amount of empathy is required so people don’t panic.
“I think a bit of care is required during times of elevated anxiety – say, coming off a big weather event and another one is lurking down the pike, for example – as to not unnecessarily inflame the situation or worsen their concern when it’s not needed.”
MetService’s Law also said constant warnings can wear people down.
“One of our concerns is about warning fatigue and how we make sure that the most important information reaches the people it needs to without over-warning or adding to anxiety.”
A person responds during Stokes Valley flooding.
RNZ / Mark Papalii
So how can you stay calm in the middle of a disaster?
Planning ahead can help – the government’s Get Ready website offers a wide range of tips.
Feather said preparation can include having an emergency “grab and go” bag and disaster plan organised with your family, and being sure you know your neighbours in case a flood hits your area.
“If you’ve already got to know your neighbours, and you have ways to communicate with them, then you’ve got a plan, and I think that helps allay the anxiety.”
Dr Jackie Feather.
Supplied
Feather offers three primary tools that can help in a crisis, taken from Acceptance and Commitment therapy.
Get Present
Ground yourself and be aware of what’s going on. “Look around you, use all your five senses together,” she said. “Are you actually safe in this moment?”
Open Up
Feel the feelings you need to and express them, rather than be overwhelmed.
Do What Matters
“This is where hope comes in, and it starts with our values,” Feather has written. Take action in a meaningful way – and if you’re in a situation where there is nothing you can do such as a power cut, perhaps take time to do something fulfilling with family, be it a board game or just talking.
“It’s kind of a three-step plan, if you like, for good mental health or resilience in any situation,” she said.
People can make bad decisions in the middle of disasters, such as trying to drive through dangerous floodwaters or refusing to leave their homes. Being present can help, she said.
“If you can, bring yourself back to the present moment and assess the situations, reflect. … It’s difficult to stay calm, because of course, you’re going to feel anxious in those moments, but make decisions together with other people.”
Simple breathing exercises in the moment can help, too.
“Just breathe slowly and deeply and make your out breath longer than your in breath, and that actually relaxes your system.”
And while weather disasters can make us all feel very alone, that only underscores the importance of turning to family or friends, even if you live by yourself.
“I live on Waiheke, and we have a WhatsApp group in our community,” Feather said.
“I’m sure if we had a serious weather event come through, everyone would be on the WhatsApp group, and we would be communicating with each other. So even those who live alone can be part of a community, you know. And then, of course, if WhatsApp goes down, the internet goes down, then we’d be door knocking.”
Climate protesters in Wellington, 30 September 2024.
Samuel Rillstone / RNZ
What is ‘eco anxiety’, anyway?
The flurry of weather events around Aotearoa affect many of us, but there’s also a lot of worries over the wider global threat of climate change.
“Let’s be honest here that that things aren’t as they were,” Feather said.
“There are more severe weather events. They’re coming more frequently. The climate is changing, and there’s a big component of human-induced climate change.
“So there’s also that eco grief, there’s eco trauma. There’s a whole range of emotions that are related to what’s been happening on the planet.”
Research shows that up to 10 percent of young people experience eco-anxiety, she said.
One possible solution is to carefully curate your news diet and avoid falling into a spiral of doomscrolling.
“We need to take charge of our own exposure to news about weather events,” Feather said.
“My husband and I actually, few months ago, we deleted the news and weather apps off our phones, and now we have to turn on TV or go to the website.”
Going back to “doing what matters”, find something that aligns to your values and makes you feel better, she said.
“It might include lobbying your local MP, it might include having a look at what the political parties are offering in terms of climate change mitigation and adaptation.”
Multiple academic studies have also looked at the impact of climate anxiety on the young, and there are programmes such as the Climate Action Campus Ōtautahi, which aims to teach young people tools to deal with the issue.
Clean-up at the flooded Konini Superette in Wainuiomata.
RNZ / Karoline Tuckey
How can you recover after a weather event?
Weather events have cost New Zealand millions in recent years and left a huge physical impact.
But the mental impacts, while less obviously visible, can also leave their own kind of scars.
“I think it’s also very important to acknowledge that there are communities that have long-term effects from weather events,” Feather said. “It takes months and years for communities to recover. So I think we do have to acknowledge that can impact on mental health too.”
When things start to become too much to bear, it’s important to ask for help.
“If you’re not sleeping, you’re constantly anxious, you’re being woken at night with nightmares or re-experiencing flashbacks, that sort of thing, or even loss of hope and low mood… it could fall in the categories of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress… and this is when you need professional help and to go and talk to your GP, call one of the help lines, call Lifeline.”
And finally, while it may seem difficult sometimes in the midst of seemingly endless weather events, it’s important to look at the big picture, Feather said.
“99 percent of the time in New Zealand, we’re actually perfectly safe.
“You know, it’s a beautiful, sunny day here on Waiheke (today), and so just making the most of our lives when we’re here on Earth, we have friends and family enjoying the present moment and not not fearing the natural world.
“…There’s a lot of joy to be had in the natural world.”
What are some other resources?
There are several resources online dedicated exclusively to mental health around weather and other emergencies.
Imposing tolls on the existing Harbour Bridge won’t raise enough revenue to cover long-term costs of a new crossing, the editor of an advocacy website says.
The Infrastructure Commission has suggested a toll as high as $9 to help pay for a second crossing.
Greater Auckland editor Matt Lowrie told Morning Report that the estimated revenue from the toll is between $7 and $9 billion, while the projected costs of the crossing could exceed $20b.
When the bridge was first opened in 1959, motorists had to pay 2 shillings and 6 pence, a figure the Commission said equalled around $9 in 2025.
Tolls were removed in 1984.
Lowrie said while a second crossing is needed to provide more capacity, other payment options could be considered.
He also agreed that tolling both crossings was necessary because just tolling the new one meant people would simply continue using the existing bridge.
That would see a “multi-billion dollar piece of infrastructure … sit unused”.
Lowrie suggested a lower toll be implemented to see the impact of it.
He said the addition of the Northern Busway in 2008 had delayed the need to spend billions of dollars on a harbour crossing as the uptake from commuters had taken the pressure off the existing bridge.
Whether a toll was introduced or not, Lowrie said Aucklanders would end up paying the bulk of the cost through a road tax or fuel taxes being raised.
But the majority would come from Crown investment – and that had to be weighed up amongst the need for improvements to hospitals and schools, he said.
On Tuesday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the new crossing would be the biggest infrastructure project New Zealand has ever done.
While the new crossing would be tolled, a question remained over whether the existing bridge would be tolled as well.
“We are working our way through that. That’s a very big decision for the country to make,” he said.
Follow our live blog at the top of this page for updates.
Banks Peninsula remains cut off by road after widespread damage from flooding and slips.
Canterbury’s civil defence controller Duncan Sandeman says the focus on Wednesday will be opening roads and restoring communications.
The peninsula was pelted by ten times the monthly average rainfall in the last 48 hours. Part of State Highway 75, the main road from Christchurch to Akaroa, was closed overnight.
Follow our live blog at the top of this page for updates.