WELLINGTON, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Two people were confirmed dead after a landslide destroyed a home in Papamoa on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island early Thursday, police said.
The house on Welcome Bay Road in the coastal suburb of Papamoa, Tauranga, was "extensively damaged" when a slip came down around 4:15 a.m. Several nearby properties were evacuated, according to the police.
The bodies of the two people were recovered from the home on Thursday evening.
In a statement on social media platform X, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described the recent weather events as "a profound tragedy, claiming lives and devastating livelihoods," adding that "New Zealand is heavy with grief."
Also on Thursday, several people, including children, remained missing after another large landslide struck a holiday park at the base of Mount Maunganui in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty region on the North Island's east coast.
The slip swept through campervans, cars, tents, hot pools, and a shower block at around 9:30 a.m. local time, triggering evacuations across the site.
Heavy rain and flooding battered parts of the North Island overnight, leaving thousands without power and isolating some communities on the North Island's east coast. ■