Photo: RNZ / Lucy Xia
This year's extreme weather events are having lasting impacts in Auckland, with a house in the suburb of Swanson on the brink of collapse and major state highways blocked by slips.
The red-stickered home was condemned after flooding in January, but heavy rain on Tuesday night sent it slipping towards Scenic Drive.
Residents struggled to sleep, fearful the home would topple over during the night.
Resident Sue, who lived down the road, said it had been an ongoing issue for months.
''I'd say this house has been changing its shape for about three or four weeks, we've seen one side of it being pushed forward, obviously from the back, from the slip coming down the back, but it's just progressed."
Auckland Council compliance manager Adrian Wilson said it had been monitoring the site since the flooding and cyclone events earlier this year.
"Our monitoring identified that the empty house at 1181 Scenic Drive began to move last week, and was at risk of potential collapse.
"We engaged engineers to assess the property from a structural and geotechnical perspective. The house was not immediately demolished due to concerns that removing it could worsen the slip behind the property and potentially risk the safety of a demolition team, neighbouring properties, or the road.
"The houses immediately next door to 1181 are also both empty. Another house next to one of these houses was evacuated last night as a precaution."
Elham lived next door, but her house was red stickered in January when it was deemed unsafe.
She said it was distressing to see what was happening to her neighbours property.
''When the house is collapsing and you don't know what will happen to you, you don't know if you are able to build a house, you feel really sad and anxious."
There are 238 red-placarded houses in Auckland.
Waitākere Ranges Local Board member Greg Presland said a meeting was held on Tuesday night with red and yellow stickered property owners in the area.
Everyone was on edge, he said.
"We've got lost of really stressed people, they suffered devastating events back in January and things are dragging on and the end is not in sight for them so the stress is quite palpable.
Auckland Council said it was being guided by technical advice on the next steps.
Further north, State Highway One in Dome Valley, north of Auckland, will remain closed between Warkworth and Wellsford on Wednesday night because a slip has crashed onto the road.
The same stretch of road also closed on Tuesday, due to another slip.
UPDATE 3:05PM, WED 28 JUN
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) June 28, 2023
Ongoing slip activity in the Dome Valley means #SH1 will remain CLOSED TODAY & OVERNIGHT between Wellsford & Warkworth. ^HJ Highways map (updated 24/7) here: https://t.co/3ufkOmOGa4 Media release: https://t.co/Ui5AlfetPt pic.twitter.com/b2htukBGJ8
Waka Kotahi said it was still moving and has spilled 30 truckloads of debris onto the highway. There have also been slips along State Highway 25 up the Thames Coast in the Coromandel.
Contractors were working around the clock to clear the road, while abseilers remove unstable material from the cliff face, Waka Kotahi said.
Maintenance and Operations manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said it has been a busy year for crews.
"We've had really unprecedented weather events and we saw that at the beginning for January, so the ground has not been able to dry up completely during what would usually be our summer, and we've just seen a constant amount of water which means the ground becomes really, really saturated."
