Landslides

The hills and cliffs of Pōneke | Wellington give the area its beauty and uniqueness, but living on or near steep slopes also comes with risks.

Landslides occur when heavy rain or earthquakes weaken the slopes. With more rainfall from climate change, landslides are expected to be more of a problem around the city.

Slips around the city

Many of us live on or near hills. In recent years we have seen landslides during wet weather around the city. When slips happen, we feel the effect in our daily lives. 

Falling rock and soil poses risks to our safety.  
The structure of our homes can lose stability due to slippage.  
Debris can move down slopes and damage homes below. 
Roads and paths can be blocked, making it hard to meet basic needs and stay connected to communities and activities that matter to us.  
Services like power and water can be interrupted.
We might need to leave our homes and workplaces if they are unsafe. 
Plants and creatures on and around slopes can be hurt or disrupted.

We can understand some of Pōneke | Wellington’s landslide risks by looking at how urban areas like Motukairangi were developed. Building on hills and slopes has created new challenges, and now we have to manage the hazards that come with it.

A landslide in Wellington showing a collapsed fence line and uprooted trees, illustrating the destructive impact of extreme weather events on the landscape

Above and intro photos of landslides supplied by NZME

Building suburbs among the slopes

In the decades following the first colonial arrivals in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, the intense scale and speed of settler population growth disrupted centuries of sustainable living with the land. 

By the early 1900s, the suburbs of Motukairangi were competing with others to attract settlers.  People built houses around hills as the area was developed – living above, on, and underneath slopes. 

Hills were also modified around the city as part of urbanisation. Cuts to make way for roads changed the shape of some slopes, making parts of them steeper. Rock and soil removed from slopes was sometimes piled to reshape land or fill dips.  

A digital city twin view overlooking Wellington from the windmill, illustrating the development of housing on the hills and the urban expansion of the city

Raupō whare and a healthy garden of cabbages at Te Karaka kāinga in Motukairangi, 1879. This area was later called Karaka Bay.
Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

From the Evening Post in September 1910
Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

Wetter weather is coming

As our climate changes, rain will fall more often in Motukairangi and will bring more water when it does. This is expected to lead to more landslides, and the potential for more damage and disruption.  But there are ways to maintain or increase the strength of slopes, and manage how we live with the land. Together we can explore some of these solutions and climate adaptations in more detail, follow the link to our resilience page below for for more information.