Tauranga extends severe weather recovery transition after deadly slips

Eight people died after a landslide destroyed parts of the Mount Maunganui campground in January. Photo / Jason Dorday

Tauranga’s “Transition to Recovery” period after January’s severe weather events has been extended.

Eight people died in landslides in Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa on January 22, six of those after a section of Mauao hillside collapsed into a holiday park and Mount Hot Pools.

On February 4, Tauranga City Council moved Tauranga into a “transition period” for a month to focus on assessing damage.

The period was today extended a further 28 days and will now end at 12.42pm on April 1, unless terminated earlier, the council said.

Council recovery manager Paula Naude said risks still existed across the city and the extended transition period would allow all assessments to be completed in a safe and comprehensive way.

“Geotechnical risk assessments, trigger action response plans, and a quantitative risk assessment to life are still underway across the city,” Naude said.

There are still 15 buildings yellow placarded and four red placarded.

“Council continues to work closely with the Mauao Trust to consider what reopening Mauao could look like.”

The council said it would release a Tauranga Recovery Plan, outlining the city’s path forward, in the next week.

The plan “represented a commitment to a recovery process centred on community wellbeing, partnership with tangata whenua, and long‑term resilience”.