Newstalk ZB
Residents of a Waiwera apartment building are slowly returning to their properties after being left “traumatised” when a huge pine tree thundered onto their homes in a landslide. The large slip, which stretched across the Twin Coast Discovery Highway early Friday morning, forced the evacuation of residents from 18 properties, including the Waiwera Coach Trail Villas. Villa resident Dave Preston, who was evacuated at 6.30am, told the Herald he was awoken by a huge crash just before dawn. The slip tumbled across Hibiscus Coast / Twin Discovery Highway down onto the villas. Photo / NZ Stormchasers Group Preston told the Herald while the majority of residents were given access to the villas the same evening, the offer was not immediately taken up. “We’re all well except some residents close to the damage are a bit traumatised.” He said no one had yet heard from insurance or any council representatives since the event when they “declared it CTV safe and gave residents access”. The landslide caused a tree to spear through a Waiwera resident's apartment. Photo / Supplied “I reported another dodgy pine tree again to Auckland Council over the weekend as there are a few nervous residents here - no reply yet either. “We were given access on Friday evening although four [people] have been staying with friends and relatives until now.” Auckland Council has been approached for comment. He said they’ve had a big clean up and things were getting back to “normal”. Preston said his neighbour, who moved into the complex a few weeks ago, was lucky to escape uninjured. “He was very close to being injured. The tree fell right through his roof. “He was lucky not to be pinned to his bed.” Resident of Waiwera Coach Trail Villas, David Preston. Photo / Michael Craig Preston, who is a member of the Waiwera Community Resilience Group, said he and others have been contacting the Auckland Council for months with concerns over the trees. “We’ve been calling the council for months trying to get the trees taken down, and now they’ve come down by themselves.” Hibiscus Coast Highway was closed both ways at Waiwera, while the usual road-toll fees for alternative route Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway were waived.
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