Sinkhole appears at popular Coromandel holiday spot, road closed

Cones and a pallet mark the area where a sinkhole was found in a residential Whangamata street. Photo / Jim Birchall

A sinkhole has appeared in a street in a popular Coromandel holiday spot.

Thames Coromandel District Council announced this morning the sinkhole had appeared in a small section of Papanui Rd, Whangamata.

The affected area, opposite 213 Papanui, has been marked with cones and the road has been closed between Ruru St and Gillian St.

Side roads were still accessible.

Investigations were taking place to determine the repairs needed.

The sinkhole that resulted in a street closure in Whangamata. Photo / Jim Birchall

This afternoon the council said preliminary investigations indicated the small sinkhole was not significant.

However, the area opposite had been made safe and traffic stopped as a precaution in case it proved larger than predicted.

The council said it appeared to be caused by material being washed away beneath the road surface through a stormwater pipe.

More detailed investigations were planned for tomorrow.

.A Papanui Rd resident who lives just down the road from where the sinkhole was located said it was the size of a pallet.

“It’s covered with a pallet, you can’t see much. There are cones around it and ropes wrapped around.”

Cyclone Hale swept through the east coast of the North Island last Monday night and lingered in the area through to Wednesday.

The storm caused widespread damage and dumped record levels of rain in the Coromandel.

According to the regional monitoring network, Waikato Regional Council, the Coromandel received 800mm of rain from January 1 to January 11, a new record.

Papanui Rd, Whangamata, has been closed while the local council works to repair a sinkhole. Photo / Jim Birchall

Normally this volume is not reached until May.

The cyclone left significant damage throughout the region, including concrete footpaths washed away and beachfront reserves reclaimed by the sea, and a repair bill expected to reach six figures.

The 60km coastline between Cooks Beach and Matarangi fared the worst.

Numerous roads were closed by slips and fallen trees last week while contractors worked to clear debris across the region.

A local state of emergency remains in place for Tairāwhiti after the district was swamped by torrential rain, cutting off many communities on the East Coast.

It’s understood Whangamata’s permanent population of around 4500 comprised of retirees and families swells to around 60,000 over the summer Christmas New Year period, when absentee owners and holiday makers flood the town.