The chief coroner says identifying victims will be complex and time consuming. Video / Alyse Wright, Jason Dorday, Annabell ReidResidents are being evacuated this evening on the East Coast over landslide risks Civil Defence says are posing “potential risk to life”. Civil Defence has ordered around 30 houses evacuate in Onepoto and parts of Te Araroa, after finding evidence of unstable land in close proximity to houses yesterday. “Significant landslide risk had been identified but no geotech assessments have yet been completed,”Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group Controller Ben Green said. “We need to be confident there is no risk to life and until this has been completed they will not be returning,” Green said in a statement released by Gisborne District Council this evening.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 24, 2026 11:39 UTC