Family lose home in Muriwai landslide, rescue kids with only minutes to spare

Thursday, 16 February 2023

Muriwai devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle

A family in Auckland’s Muriwai had to grab their children from their beds and run from their home due to a landslide, which killed a firefighter and injured another.

Hannah Thompson and Eddie Wood, along with their two sons aged under 5, lost their home, cars and belongings to a landslide on Motutara Rd in Muriwai.

Seth Thompson, who also lives in Muriwai and is Thompson’s brother, said the children had been sleeping on Monday night when Wood heard a noise outside.

“He thought the gutters were blocked by the heavy rain so he went outside to check and saw a phenomenal amount of water.”

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The family were too distraught to speak about the incident and had asked Seth Thompson to speak on their behalf.

Hannah Thompson and Eddie Wood pictured with their sons.

“Eddie called his neighbour to help try and divert the water with shovels when he heard what he described as this evil low rumbling.”

Wood screamed at Thompson to get out of the house with the kids and ran inside the two-storey home to help.

The pair grabbed their children and managed to run down the driveway as the landslide hit their home.

Their neighbours’ house was also wiped out by the landslide and a volunteer firefighter was killed and another injured as they tried to help make sure their neighbour was safe.

“It came down really fast, there was no time to get anything, all they had were the clothes they were in and a cellphone.

“They’ve lost everything and are devastated that firefighters got caught up in it. The whole of Muriwai is really sad and have all been impacted by the cyclone.”

Thompson and Wood did have insurance on their home and contents but a friend had set up a Givealittle to help with immediate necessities including clothing, bedding and toiletries.

After that, the family would be working on getting Wood a new work van and tools so he could get back to his job as a builder.

The roads into Muriwai have been cordoned off and the whole Motutara Rd area was affected by the weather.

About 100 Muriwai residents had to seek refuge at the Surf Life Saving Club on Monday night.