Due to a recent landslide, Gisborne District Council advises anyone considering accessing the Hangaroa River below Bushy Knoll Road to avoid the area until further notice.

Soon after the June 24-26 storm this year, a massive landslide occurred on the Middle Mount farm blocks in the Hangaroa.

Council Principal Scientist Dr Murry Cave says the landslide is unstable and very visible from the 8km mark beyond the Bailey Bridge where Elmers Road meets Bushy Knoll Road.

“This landslide has a very large volume of unstable material which is holding up a large volume of water.

“We expect this landslide to fail with little notice at any time. If it does fail there is a possibility that a debris flow will be generated which may reach the Hangaroa River and travel downstream as a debris flood.

Dr Cave says it’s likely to fail during or after heavy rain but failure could occur at any time without a rainfall trigger.

“Anyone considering accessing the Hangaroa River below Bushy Knoll Road should, for the time being, avoid the river until such time as Council advises that the landslide has failed or has stabilised.

“We have observed a number of such failures in the last month.”

Dr Cave asks anyone who has observed active slope failures, or has seen unusual signs of movement on their land (for example open cracks forming or hollows developing where these have not been observed previously), to contact Gisborne District Council so that these possible risks can be assessed.

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