Landslip leaves tourists stranded at popular site in new Zealand

A large landslip in New Zealand has left 1,000 people stranded at a popular tourist site as reported by the country’s civil defence. In a statement, local civil defence controller John Canning said that mudslides near the Franz and Fox glaciers on the country's south island have left many tourists trapped. They could be there until Friday, he added. It is a very awkward few days where people are going to be trapped, he revealed.

Stranded till Friday

Canning said than an exit had been cleared at the Fox Glacier, but at least 800, and "possibly a thousand", people were still stranded at the Franz Josef Glacier. He went on to say that crews were working out whether the group had supplies or there was anything they needed. Timaru district has also been in a state of emergency since Saturday due to extensive flooding. Timaru Council said it would be carrying out assessments on Monday and providing support for those living in houses affected by the floods.

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Country’s meteorological service has issued a thunderstorm warning for parts of the north island, but this had passed by Monday morning. The department said that today was mainly fine, though there were a few showers around. Talking about the conditions, Timaru Council said that delays to journey times between Timaru and Christchurch could be affected due to a backlog of traffic and limited access on the roads.

The incident comes amid a weekend of extreme weather conditions across parts of New Zealand that caused further mudslides, flooding and power outages. Five people have been reported dead and at least 27 people are still unaccounted for after the Volcano on New Zealand's White Island erupted on Monday. Emergency service has not been able to commence search and rescue operation because the conditions on the island remain unstable due to toxic gas and ash. The Volcano erupted at 2:11pm today and the resulting plume of ash was reported to be visible from the east coast of the North Island.

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