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Landslides - Ngā horo whenua
A landslide is the movement of rock and soil down a slope.
Landslides can range in size from a single boulder in a rock fall to a very large avalanche of debris with lots of rock and soil that spreads across many kilometres.
Types of landslide
Some landslides bring down a mountainside, and travel at 200 kilometres an hour. Others are shallow or slow, moving only a few centimetres a year. Landslides also move in different ways, such as falling, sliding sideways, or flowing.
Landslides in Aotearoa
Aotearoa has steep mountains with rocks weakened by earthquakes, and hillsides of soft rock. This means landslides are common in many parts of the country.
The most common landslide is shallow and fast, flowing like wet cement. New Zealand’s landslides often happen after a rainstorm and may damage roads, railways and farms.
Landslides are a serious geological hazard in many parts of Aotearoa. Heavy rainfall or earthquakes can cause a landslide.
Human activities, such as removal of trees and vegetation, steep roadside cuttings or leaking water pipes can also cause landslides.
Learn more about landslides here.
It’s important to recognise the warning signs of landslides and act quickly.
Ask an adult at home to regularly check your property for:
- Small slips, rockfalls and sinking land at the bottom of slopes.
- Sticking doors and window frames may mean the land is slowly moving under the house.
- Gaps where window frames are not fitting properly.
- Steps, decks, and verandas moving or tilting away from the rest of the house.
- New cracks or bulges on the ground, road, footpath, retaining walls and other hard surfaces.
- Tilting trees, retaining walls or fences.
Complete the Landslides quiz.
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