Follow the RNZ liveblog above.
Work is continuing into the night as darkness sets in at Mauao, Mount Maunganui where a landslide careened into the campground at the base this morning. Several emergency services vehicles remain at the scene beyond a cordon that has been expanded.
Several people are missing, and Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell has confirmed [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/584694/mauao-campground-landslide-children-missing-after-slip-in-mount-maunganui a young girl was among the missing. RNZ understands other children may be unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, two bodies have been recovered after a house on Welcome Bay Road was engulfed by a landslide early this morning.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
