Six people are still unaccounted for 18 hours on, and an independent review has been announced to probe the hours leading up to the disaster.

Local iwi representatives gathered at the base of Mt Maunganui on Friday night, joined by the families of the missing, to hold a karakia service.

Police were called to an incident at 6.10pm.

Georgina Taiapa said two feet of deep silt, water and debris surrounded the motel after a large slip crashed into the property.

Police say six people are missing at Mount Maunganui after Thursday's landslip at a campsite, while they are seeking further information on three others.

Its board sought a judicial review of the Ministry of Education's decision to cancel its registration as a private school.

They have been seriously injured.

Emergency crews spent the day scouring the Mahurangi River north of Auckland for any signs of the man.

The boy died alongside his grandmother at their Welcome Bay Rd home.

He was unresponsive when pulled out of the water, police say.

But not everything went former Christchurch Boys' High School teacher Susan Mowat's way

MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Christchurch City, the Canterbury Plains and Canterbury High Country.

Police have apologised to the family in person, saying the situation was "very regrettable".

RNZ understands the two people who died after a landslide engulfed a house on Welcome Bay Road are a grandmother and a grandchild.

A person has died after being struck by a train while riding an e-scooter in Christchurch's Addington this morning.