Landslip shocks suburb residents
A huge clap of thunder and the wailing of a car alarm were the first signs suburban Greymouth residents got that something was wrong just below Arnott Heights, as a landslip threw mud, rocks and vegetation down Milton Rd.
Muddy water was still running off the hillside as dawn broke and contractors and Grey District Council staff inspected the scene.
A second slip came down at noon yesterday, halting work to clear the road, which was not expected to reopen until late last night.
People were urged to keep away.
Two calls in rapid succession to Arnott Heights had the Greymouth and Cobden volunteer fire brigades scrambling.
The pile of earth that slid down Milton Rd at 1am yesterday prompted the first 111 call, and just one minute later a kitchen fire at an Arnott Heights property — beyond the slip — was called in.
With the road buried in dirt, a police officer was able to reach the scene of the kitchen fire on foot, and ascertain that the fire was out.
Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Lee Swinburn said an excavator left on site after starting remedial
work on an earlier slip, was used to clear a rough path through the debris.
The fire crew’s 4WD emergency response vehicle was then sent through the muck to ensure the house was not under any further threat.
The kitchen fire was caused by unattended cooking. Meanwhile, volunteers from the Cobden brigade assisted at the slip site.
One Milton Rd resident was woken by the car alarm and quickly moved it out of the way; another car was left unscathed — by just centimetres.
The Niwa weather station in Greymouth recorded 20mm between 10pm1am, on top of already sodden ground.
Arnott Heights resident Leigh Sullivan said the slip happened
at the same time as the thunder and lightning.
‘‘We didn’t know anything until about 6am — we noticed the power off.
‘‘One lady messaged me at 6 to say the road was actually closed.’’
Mr Sullivan said the council was erecting a whole new retaining wall system after last year’s slip.
The Grey District Council said the latest slip was from a different site, much higher up the hill, above the old slip.
‘‘The slip was substantial, but the council had not received any reports of damage to nearby properties and the debris had mainly been confined to the Milton Rd carriageway.
‘‘Today our aim is to restore access and install bunds to stabilise the slip.
‘‘Our contractors are working hard to clear the debris and, all going to plan, expect to have the road open to one lane today.’’ The slip needed to settle before a full assessment could be carried out to confirm the extent of the damage, and what would be required to restore the site, council transport and infrastructure manager Paddy Blanchfield said.
Westpower general manager network Mark Blandford said the power outage in Greymouth in the early hours was caused by the same slip.
A total of 1319 consumers were initially affected.
Supply was restored to most within an hour.