Slip that trapped West Auckland residents sounded like an 'earthquake'

Monday, 30 January 2023

Landslides and debris from the storm has blocked roads and damaged homes in Auckland’s Titirangi.

A slip that took out a bank during Auckland’s floods sounded like an “earthquake”, a resident says.

Maureen O’Brien was at home in West Auckland’s Titirangi, on Wood Bay Rd, on Friday night when torrential rain hit the city.

She heard a loud noise, but it was too dark to see what happened, she said.

“I wandered down but all I could see was a cascade of water coming down over the driveway.”

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A slip has taken out a large bank in Auckland’s Titirangi.

In the morning, she discovered her neighbour’s bank had slipped down onto the road and into her driveway, taking the neighbour’s car with it, she said.

A handful of Titirangi roads are not driveable due to slips.

Trees had completely blocked her in. She and a neighbour have since managed to clear them.

The slip had blocked the road, leaving 30 houses trapped without water, she said.

The power did not come back on until Sunday night.

Streets were underwater in West Auckland's Glendene.

The Wood Bay Rd is one of a number of slips in the area.

Other locals said they had been walking 25 minutes to the nearest shops for water and food as the road was not driveable.

Stuart Andrews has been unable to drive out of his home since the slip came down on Friday night.

He didn’t realise the full extent of the damage until the next morning.

He was unsure when the slip would be cleared or when water would be back on.

Watercare had brought tankers into the area but the nearest one was 2km walk away, he said.

“We have been pretty lucky. If that’s the worst we are going to get, we are happy to wait our time.But communication would have been helpful.”

Friday was Auckland’s wettest day on record, leading to “extreme” flooding events across the region.

The storm was having a “significant” impact on water and wastewater operations across Tāmaki Makaurau, officials said.

Large swathes of West Auckland were told to expect “no water or low water pressure” until at least Monday after a 30-metre-long section of water pipe running along Scenic Drive was washed away with the road.