Evacuated Wellington residents given all clear to return after land slip in suburb of Kingston
Houses evacuated in the Wellington suburb of Kingston after a major slip threatens the properties
Nine people, including a 10-week-old baby, evacuated after a landslip in Wellington have been given the all-clear to return to their homes.
The sound of cracking trees on a rainy night was the first that residents in the suburb of Kingston knew of a hill collapsing beneath their homes.
Three homes and a flat were evacuated on Halifax St, but Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said a geotechnical engineer had deemed the slip was far enough away from the houses "that it is has not affected the risk profile of any homes".
A large landslide in the Wellington suburb of Kingston overnight has seen ten people evacuated from their homes.
"The evacuated residents have been given the all-clear to return to their homes. This morning's slip does not pose an immediate threat to the houses on Halifax St and the surrounding hillside has not been compromised by the slip," MacLean said.
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An EQC engineer would be on site on Friday afternoon to talk with affected residents about how to make a claim.
Three homes on the edge of the slip site were evacuated.
Some estimates put Thursday night's slip at three times the size of another the occurred down the road at Priscilla Crescent in 2013. That slip was 150 metres long and 40m wide, and led to the demolition of two homes near a cliff edge.
Up the road in Halifax St on Friday morning, residents in three homes were allowed to grab vital possession before leaving their homes.
Bharat Govind, who lives near the bottom of the slip, got home to hear "all the crackling" of the breaking trees.
"I just thought it was a couple of trees falling. But I didn't think it was a bad as it was."
While the slip was in the valley beneath his home, it was "a bit close for comfort", he said.
All residents had found alternative accommodation, while several neighbours have offered up accommodation to those who need it.
One side of the hill, directly beneath their homes, has tumbled down leaving a high mud cliff, estimated at 30 to 50 metres high.
In the valley below, mud and trees have carved a dramatic gorge through the bush.
MacLean said residents knew of the slip because of the sound of "lots of cracking trees" at about 8.30pm on Thursday.
Others reported the same about 11.30pm, suggesting there may have been two slips.
A police spokeswoman said the properties were evacuated at 8.21am on Friday. There were no injuries.
It comes after the remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Debbie caused multiple slips across Wellington on Thursday, including one in the suburb of Newtown that ruptured a gas line.
MacLean said the Halifax St slip did not appear to the result of a drainage issue.
Another slip blocked the southbound lane of State Highway 2 on the Featherston side of the Rimutaka Hill for about five hours on Thursday morning. The slip was clear by about 11.30am.
- Stuff
