Slip sends debris crashing onto two Porirua homes, forces evacuation
Photo:
RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
A landslip has crashed down against two homes in Porirua, forcing the occupants out until engineers decide whether it's safe to live in.
Fire and Emergency crews were called to the slip on Acheron Road about 9.30am on Sunday.
Porirua City Council's infrastructure general manager Mike Mendonça said the land came down with heavy rain hammering already sodden ground.
He said about half a dozen properties on Acheron Road were initially evacuated, and people had since been able to return to all but two of them.
"There's some debris leaning up against the back of the homes and we're still worried about the stability of the bank which is why we have a geotech engineer investigation still underway," Mendonça said.
Engineers had assessed the land and properties on Walker Avenue above the slip and were comfortable they were safe, he said.
The slip was on private land, so dealing with the clean-up would now be in the hands of homeowners, insurance companies and engineers, Mendonça said.
There had been a few slips in Porirua over the past couple of weeks amid persistent rain, with some closing roads, he said.
"By and large they've been an inconvenience, but not a major for us.
"Like the rest of New Zealand we're a bit wet, but not nearly as bad as it is in the South Island, so our thoughts are with those guys down there."
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