Cars crushed, house cut off as downpours cause slips, road closures in Wellington

At least three cars have been crushed, after heavy rain pummelling Wellington sent a retaining wall, pathway, trees and roughly 50 cubic metres of earth crashing onto the road below.

While authorities were alerted to the impressive slip on Sutherland Cres at about 2am Saturday, it wasn’t until daylight that twisted mess of spray concrete, smashed car windows and sodden soil was fully revealed.

Have you been affected by slips in Wellington? Send your pictures to newstips@stuff.co.nz

The slip, in the suburb of Melrose, was one of more than 150 slips reported to Wellington City Council since Thursday – the latest in a succession of slips across the region in recent weeks.

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But the problems haven’t been confined to the central city, with persistent wet weather creating disruption in Hutt Valley, with Eastern Hutt Rd closed in both directions due to fresh slips. The high Hutt River had also closed Block Rd.

Porirua contractors were also being kept busy, with Grays and Paekākāriki Hill roads closed overnight, and the local council reporting a “large number of slips” across its network.

While the slip on Sutherland Cres closed the road to traffic, it hasn’t stopped passersby from snapping pictures of the contorted scene, thought to be caused by an “inundation of persistent rain over the last few weeks”.

It appeared as though the slip had come down “in one big heap”, rather than by gradual descent, the council’s chief infrastructure officer Siobhan Procter​ explained.

“That is a spray concrete wall that’s come down, three cars have been damaged … it’s cut off access to the house at the top, so those residents have moved into temporary accommodation.

“The ground has become incredibly weighty and boggy, and that weight then brings down its gravity basically,” Procter said.

A temporary access path would be installed by council contractors next week, so residents could access their properties.

Residents from eight properties had also been evacuated in the past 24 hours, including in Seatoun and Crofton Downs.

“It is quite difficult to predict where these slips are going to happen, and I think these last few weeks has been quite an extreme weather pattern in terms of just the sheer volume of rain that we’ve had.”

“We’re really thankful that no one’s been injured through this latest flurry of slips. We know how concerning it is for residents who are affected … no one would want this to happen to them.”

Two out of three exit routes from Karori were also closed due to slips, with residents encouraged to stay home if possible.

While more rain was forecast for Wellington, it was expected to be light, Procter said.

One of their more pressing concerns was strong winds knocking down trees, she said, and council would have staff out over the coming days visiting slip sites and removing them where needed.

“Our council contractors are absolutely slammed at the moment. They’ve been working non-stop for the last six weeks.

“We will keep an eye on the slips that have happened, we’ve got a lot of clearing up to do and a lot of assessment to do as well.”

Ngaio Gorge also had a slip, with traffic understood to be impacted.

A large slip extending into Otari-Wilton’s Bush reserve had also captured the attention of locals, but as the slip was largely confined to council land, no private homes were thought to be in danger.

Residents of Tio Tio Rd in Miramar were also evacuated, including Harry Chen who described hearing a “bomb” like sound when the slip occurred at about 9.20pm Friday.

They have been evacuated, as well residents of Oldham Way in Crofton Downs while experts assess their properties for safety issues.

Residents of three houses below a slip on Onslow Rd between Cashmere Ave and Benares St, Khandallah were still unable to return to their houses.

While there has been a spate of fresh slips from the latest deluge, The Terrace between Ghuznee and Buller streets remained closed to traffic as a result of last week’s slip.

Geotechnical engineers were awaiting dry weather before making a call on the stability of the slip face.