‘We don’t know what’s going to happen’: Giant sinkhole alarms upmarket suburb
By RNZ
A large sinkhole has opened up on a street in Auckland’s St Marys Bay.
The area, in a dip in the road on Hackett St, was badly damaged in the 2023 Auckland anniversary weekend floods and has been covered by a steel plate since then.
Residents say the hole emerged on Thursday, after which some reported losing water for several hours.
The hole is about 5m long, 3m wide and more than 1m deep in parts.
A steady stream of water can be seen running through the hole beneath the street.
St Mary’s Bay man Tony Skelton said he was concerned about ageing infrastructure that lay beneath the hole.
“All the infrastructure here is 126-year-old clay pipes,” he said.
“If there is further damage, that could undermine our properties and could cause considerable problems.”
He was particularly concerned about what would happen after the next downpour.
“The next heavy rain event, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Water contractors were at the site on Monday. Hackett St was closed to traffic.
Watercare has been approached for comment.
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz
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