Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said it was a huge blow for the small communities.
About 1500 Hangaroa residents in about 500 households have been affected by severe weather disruptions since January, when Cyclone Hale struck, then Cyclone Gabrielle hit in February.
“They have been using detours the whole year. This is just another cruel blow for that community,” Stoltz said.
“I actually travelled that road on Tuesday to open a new bridge there and the community was so excited with recovery happening... so I know they will be very disappointed this morning.”
The detours required would add “significant time” to the journey for people travelling from Tiniroto and Hangaroa to Gisborne, she said. Hampered access is of particular concern for emergency services.
Land movement has damaged the surface of roads in the Gisborne area. Photo / RNZ
Stoltz said council repair crews were on site on Wednesday morning, but it would not be a quick fix.
“It’s a huge landslide. That’s the same site where a landslide came down in 1985 and then during Cyclone Bola in 1988, there was a landslide there as well that actually caused the lake called Lake French,” she said.
“If you take a look at those images, it will be a huge, huge job.”
She said rain that lashed the area last weekend would have contributed to the slip. After nine major weather events in 18 months, local people’s patience is wearing thin.
“We need to connect our communities, but we are coming up against this time after time.
“We just need a break for the soil to dry out, so that we can carry on with our recovery efforts.”
Tiniroto Road resident Alex Campbell said the region had already been “tipped on its head access-wise” before last night’s slip.
“Six bridges on the Hangaroa River, five of them are gone, so that just in itself created huge issues. We’ve got the main road through Tiniroto... that’s been closed. They opened that up after the cyclone, it took a real battering as much from the river - got shaved off the face of the earth, a section of the road,” Campbell said.
