1 00:00:09,093 --> 00:00:12,892 Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk ZEDB. Follow this 2 00:00:13,053 --> 00:00:16,173 Speaker 1: and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:16,613 --> 00:00:20,573 Speaker 2: So we are bringing you extensive coverage of this devastating 4 00:00:20,692 --> 00:00:24,973 Speaker 2: slip in Mount Mongonui at the campground. A media stand 5 00:00:25,052 --> 00:00:28,732 Speaker 2: up has just finished and there was Michael Moore, a 6 00:00:28,773 --> 00:00:32,772 Speaker 2: New Zealand Herald reporter, who joins us on the phone. Now, Michael, 7 00:00:32,973 --> 00:00:34,092 Speaker 2: a very good afternoon to you. 8 00:00:34,933 --> 00:00:36,132 Speaker 3: Yeah, afternoon, Matte. 9 00:00:36,493 --> 00:00:39,013 Speaker 4: What are the latest? What's the latest down there? 10 00:00:39,053 --> 00:00:43,373 Speaker 3: Michael? Yeah, Well, look, this is a fairly major rescue 11 00:00:43,373 --> 00:00:48,772 Speaker 3: operation that is underway currently, Matt including police search and 12 00:00:48,853 --> 00:00:53,013 Speaker 3: rescue staff, fire cruiser here as well. There has been 13 00:00:53,053 --> 00:00:57,013 Speaker 3: a huge landslider, A massive chunk of earth has come 14 00:00:57,413 --> 00:01:02,252 Speaker 3: crashing down into the Mount Monganui campsite. It has covered 15 00:01:02,773 --> 00:01:07,333 Speaker 3: the ablution block as well as hitting caravans and tents. 16 00:01:07,893 --> 00:01:11,813 Speaker 3: At this stage, the very latest information is that there 17 00:01:11,893 --> 00:01:15,572 Speaker 3: are people unaccounted for. Police have confirmed that the number 18 00:01:15,652 --> 00:01:20,093 Speaker 3: of people unaccounted for is in the single figures and 19 00:01:20,212 --> 00:01:22,933 Speaker 3: at this stage what they are trying to do is 20 00:01:23,292 --> 00:01:26,292 Speaker 3: a reconciliation. They are trying to go through a list 21 00:01:26,333 --> 00:01:28,813 Speaker 3: of people who are checked in. At this campground to 22 00:01:28,973 --> 00:01:33,773 Speaker 3: understand whether those people are in fact in the rubble 23 00:01:33,932 --> 00:01:37,732 Speaker 3: or whether they have checked out already. I have just 24 00:01:37,893 --> 00:01:42,572 Speaker 3: also spoken to the Minister Mark Mitchell and he has 25 00:01:42,652 --> 00:01:46,213 Speaker 3: confirmed to me that young people are among those who 26 00:01:46,253 --> 00:01:51,253 Speaker 3: are unaccounted for. He described the situation to me as heartbreaking. 27 00:01:51,653 --> 00:01:55,773 Speaker 3: And right now at the Monganui Surf Club is where 28 00:01:55,853 --> 00:02:00,973 Speaker 3: family members, parents have gathered waiting for news. So it's 29 00:02:01,013 --> 00:02:06,253 Speaker 3: a very fluid, active situation here at Mount Monganui at 30 00:02:06,293 --> 00:02:09,453 Speaker 3: the moment, and it's a fairly devastating situation. 31 00:02:10,013 --> 00:02:13,893 Speaker 2: How many rescue personnel are on the ground at the moment, Michael, 32 00:02:13,933 --> 00:02:16,893 Speaker 2: do you know and when we know us? Are there 33 00:02:17,773 --> 00:02:20,053 Speaker 2: the Urban Search and Rescue of course police you mentioned 34 00:02:20,093 --> 00:02:22,333 Speaker 2: fire Service. Is there a rough number on how many 35 00:02:22,333 --> 00:02:23,733 Speaker 2: people are involved in this recovery? 36 00:02:23,773 --> 00:02:27,253 Speaker 3: Is it? Look, I don't have that figure currently, but 37 00:02:27,373 --> 00:02:31,693 Speaker 3: there I would say there are dozens of emergency personnel 38 00:02:32,013 --> 00:02:35,252 Speaker 3: who are involved in this rescue effort at the moment. 39 00:02:35,293 --> 00:02:38,453 Speaker 3: I mean, standing here just down from where this landslip 40 00:02:38,532 --> 00:02:42,733 Speaker 3: has occurred, I can see probably a dozen police officers. 41 00:02:43,573 --> 00:02:48,013 Speaker 3: Further inside the cordon, you have the Fire Service who 42 00:02:48,053 --> 00:02:52,173 Speaker 3: are obviously that fends and they are sort of coordinating 43 00:02:52,373 --> 00:02:55,893 Speaker 3: the rescue operation at the moment. Now, this rescue operation, 44 00:02:56,093 --> 00:02:59,813 Speaker 3: there is a huge amount of dirt that has come 45 00:02:59,853 --> 00:03:02,893 Speaker 3: down the hill. I can't give you an exact amount 46 00:03:02,972 --> 00:03:06,293 Speaker 3: in terms of cubic meters, but this is an extraordinarily 47 00:03:06,933 --> 00:03:14,053 Speaker 3: complex and delicate rescue operation because they are trying to 48 00:03:13,733 --> 00:03:18,013 Speaker 3: get through such a significant amount of material. Now we 49 00:03:18,173 --> 00:03:21,293 Speaker 3: know when this happened around half past nine this morning, 50 00:03:22,133 --> 00:03:26,853 Speaker 3: that people were yelling from within under the rubble. We 51 00:03:26,933 --> 00:03:29,893 Speaker 3: heard people. There was people on the scene who were 52 00:03:29,933 --> 00:03:33,412 Speaker 3: at the campsite, and there were emergency staff who responded 53 00:03:33,532 --> 00:03:37,653 Speaker 3: very quickly and they could hear voices coming from in 54 00:03:37,853 --> 00:03:42,053 Speaker 3: the rubble. Now, police and fence staff then had to 55 00:03:42,253 --> 00:03:47,293 Speaker 3: retreat because the slip was still moving. And what's happened 56 00:03:47,333 --> 00:03:51,732 Speaker 3: since then is that the commander from fends has told 57 00:03:51,813 --> 00:03:55,453 Speaker 3: us that they are no longer hearing voices coming from 58 00:03:55,933 --> 00:03:58,933 Speaker 3: within the rubble. However, this is very much still an 59 00:03:59,053 --> 00:04:01,653 Speaker 3: active rescue operation at the moment. 60 00:04:02,333 --> 00:04:04,973 Speaker 4: And as you said that the slip was still unstable 61 00:04:05,293 --> 00:04:07,653 Speaker 4: and there was it was coming down. People that retreat 62 00:04:07,893 --> 00:04:10,333 Speaker 4: as these slip stable now. 63 00:04:10,213 --> 00:04:14,693 Speaker 3: Michael, look, it's hard to know like part of what 64 00:04:15,613 --> 00:04:17,933 Speaker 3: the search and rescue. The land search and rescue teams 65 00:04:17,973 --> 00:04:21,573 Speaker 3: will be doing is a The priority is getting people 66 00:04:21,573 --> 00:04:24,332 Speaker 3: out safely. That's, you know, saving lives. That is the 67 00:04:24,413 --> 00:04:27,933 Speaker 3: most critical point at the moment. Secondly, what they will 68 00:04:27,933 --> 00:04:30,933 Speaker 3: be trying to do is stabilize the land to ensure 69 00:04:30,973 --> 00:04:34,053 Speaker 3: that we don't have further slips that is going to 70 00:04:34,173 --> 00:04:39,053 Speaker 3: further complicate this rescue operation. So there's a lot of 71 00:04:39,333 --> 00:04:42,973 Speaker 3: things going on at the moment that search and rescue 72 00:04:43,053 --> 00:04:46,933 Speaker 3: and friends are trying to contend with, but obviously saving 73 00:04:47,013 --> 00:04:50,613 Speaker 3: lives is number one priority, followed by land stabilization to 74 00:04:50,773 --> 00:04:53,533 Speaker 3: ensure that this rescue effort can continue unheeded. 75 00:04:54,053 --> 00:04:56,093 Speaker 2: Have you had much of a chance to speak to 76 00:04:56,213 --> 00:04:58,413 Speaker 2: locals when you've been down there, Michael, And if you have, 77 00:04:59,093 --> 00:05:01,213 Speaker 2: what is the mood? What is the feeling of what 78 00:05:01,253 --> 00:05:02,093 Speaker 2: has happened this morning? 79 00:05:03,453 --> 00:05:05,373 Speaker 3: Okay, I've only really just got down here at last 80 00:05:05,413 --> 00:05:11,093 Speaker 3: forty five minutes, but look, there is an extreme level 81 00:05:11,133 --> 00:05:16,493 Speaker 3: of concern. There is some level of normality in the 82 00:05:16,533 --> 00:05:19,453 Speaker 3: streets around the site, with people at cafes and going 83 00:05:19,453 --> 00:05:21,933 Speaker 3: about their business, but certainly within the vicinity of the 84 00:05:21,973 --> 00:05:26,013 Speaker 3: surf club and in and around these cordons, you know, 85 00:05:26,053 --> 00:05:30,133 Speaker 3: the situation is pretty tense, and you can just imagine 86 00:05:31,173 --> 00:05:34,973 Speaker 3: the scenario for families who are right now at the 87 00:05:35,013 --> 00:05:38,293 Speaker 3: surf club near this emergency scene waiting for news for 88 00:05:38,373 --> 00:05:39,133 Speaker 3: their love ones. 89 00:05:39,773 --> 00:05:42,173 Speaker 4: Now it's looking like a record amount of rain that 90 00:05:42,213 --> 00:05:46,933 Speaker 4: has fallen in this amount of time down there were 91 00:05:46,973 --> 00:05:50,253 Speaker 4: people in the area, are where how big the rainfall 92 00:05:50,373 --> 00:05:54,013 Speaker 4: was going to be? How informed were people on the 93 00:05:55,293 --> 00:05:56,613 Speaker 4: nature of this weather event. 94 00:05:58,093 --> 00:06:00,773 Speaker 3: Well, I think that there has been you know, a 95 00:06:00,773 --> 00:06:03,293 Speaker 3: lot of activity in terms of messages coming out from 96 00:06:03,373 --> 00:06:08,413 Speaker 3: police and from civil defense people in the area in 97 00:06:08,493 --> 00:06:12,093 Speaker 3: terms of the amount of rain. The strange thing about 98 00:06:12,173 --> 00:06:15,293 Speaker 3: this is that, of course this lip happened after a 99 00:06:15,293 --> 00:06:17,733 Speaker 3: lot of the rain that actually stopped. Obvious that it 100 00:06:18,493 --> 00:06:22,413 Speaker 3: accumulated overnight. But you're right in parts of the east 101 00:06:22,453 --> 00:06:24,693 Speaker 3: coast of the North Island with at a twelve hour 102 00:06:24,773 --> 00:06:29,452 Speaker 3: period that there has been more than two months words 103 00:06:29,493 --> 00:06:32,893 Speaker 3: of rain over just twelve hours, So that is a 104 00:06:33,173 --> 00:06:38,453 Speaker 3: huge amount of rain that come down at once, and 105 00:06:38,533 --> 00:06:42,373 Speaker 3: of course concurrently at the moment as well as this 106 00:06:42,453 --> 00:06:46,173 Speaker 3: emergency situation here in mark Wong Andwi, we had another 107 00:06:46,693 --> 00:06:51,933 Speaker 3: emergency situation that is unfolding in nearby Papa Lay at 108 00:06:51,973 --> 00:06:56,253 Speaker 3: Welcome Bay where two people are unaccounted for after another 109 00:06:56,413 --> 00:06:59,613 Speaker 3: landslide hit a house there. So that is another operation 110 00:07:00,133 --> 00:07:03,533 Speaker 3: which police sends and search and rescue are involved with. 111 00:07:04,733 --> 00:07:08,173 Speaker 2: Michael. Yeah, it is a devastating end, as you say, 112 00:07:08,533 --> 00:07:13,253 Speaker 2: ongoing situation. Really appreciate you joining us and hopefully we'll 113 00:07:13,253 --> 00:07:15,893 Speaker 2: catch up a little bit later this afternoon. That is 114 00:07:16,053 --> 00:07:18,373 Speaker 2: Michael mora New Zealand Herald reporter. 115 00:07:19,213 --> 00:07:21,893 Speaker 1: For more from News Talk st B, listen live on 116 00:07:21,933 --> 00:07:24,933 Speaker 1: air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever 117 00:07:24,973 --> 00:07:27,533 Speaker 1: you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.