Greymouth suburb still isolated after landslide

A small army of contractors has been working hard to try to restore road access to a Greymouth suburb after a landslide, but residents are warned the hill remains unstable.

The hilltop  suburb of Arnott Heights has been isolated since about 1am yesterday when a landslide of mud and bush crashed off the hillside and blocked access at the top of Milton Rd.

Concerns are now centred on a 'knob' left behind on the hillside, and contractors were going to try and dislodge it today. 

Residents are holding tight, but keen to be reconnected to the town.

Mayor Tania Gibson visited the work site this morning and said it was looking better, with a lot of debris gone. However, it was still very muddy. The hope was to open some kind of access to the top of the hill for residents.

"No one wants to open it until that (knob) comes down."

Grey District Council transport and infrastructure manager Patrick Blanchfield said geotechnical engineers on site had advised there is still a bit of movement in the hill and some small slips occurred overnight.

"Our teams have cleared a lot of debris and aim to establish road access later today. This is dependent on site stability and will be carefully managed. We'll let you know as soon as we have vehicle access.

"We will likely close the road again overnight for safety."

Staff members had been stationed at the top and bottom of the slip, and were also assisting to get supplies and medications in and out on behalf of stranded residents.

To ensure the safety of its teams, the council would need to turn the power off for some hours today, he said.

"Safety is our priority. Residents are asked to speak to our staff if they have any immediate concerns."

Mr Blanchfield thanked the Arnott Heights community for their patience and perseverance.

Mrs Gibson said they were not aware of property damage, but the debris came up to the garage of the house on the tight corner at the top of Milton Rd.

She rejected criticism that work started only last week to fix an earlier slip there had triggered the landslide on Monday. 

"It's completely different and from quite high up. We have engineers and qualified people working who are good at these jobs. We have got to trust in the people. We've had geotechs and engineers. We can't control Mother Nature."

Long-time Arnott Heights resident Ian Arnott, like others at the top of the hill, said he was sitting around waiting.

"We can't go anywhere, we are stuck here but we have a few supplies, some groceries and plenty of water."

The last slip had been cleaned up pretty quickly but this time there were three areas where it had broken away, Mr Arnott said.

"It was triggered when the guys cut in and then the rain got in. To this extent it was unexpected and until the block of 'island' moves, we won't be going anywhere.

"We are all right, we just have to wait and hopefully we can get down tomorrow."

Leigh Sullivan has lived at Arnott Heights for many years but this was the first time they had been shut off completely from the rest of the town.

"The big concern is the 'island' in the middle (of the slip).

"There is a water table on the hill and it has to go somewhere. The new school says the diggers had no effect (on the landslide), but the old school says it's connected," Mr Sullivan said.

"There is no issue with medication, the contractors have been very good ensuring it gets through."

Nancy Mahuika said while it was an inconvenience she was fine.

"I've got provisions and I'm a good country girl and could live up here for a month - probably need some bread though. Everyone has been checking on me, ringing me, I'll just sit it out and wait until it opens."

Stacey Cousins says she is hoping the road opens soon so she can get to the supermarket.

"We are doing not too bad but hopefully they can get the road open somehow as we are getting low on milk especially. It's been a couple of days now and Mathew and I have a couple of teenage sons. No school for the boys at the moment.

"Being so close to town and being cut off is a concern as two years ago we got cut off as well but it is a lot worse this time."

The latest slip roughly follows the power line from the top to the bottom of the hill.

Westpower general manager network Mark Blandford said electricity was restored yesterday morning.

"At this stage we don't plan to install a generator as power is on - but we will review this if the situation worsens."

Yesterday afternoon, power-poles could be seen on either edge of the slip, with the wires slung between.

- By Laura Mills and Paul McBride