Hiker Mark Tangney saw people fleeing the landslide-hit campsite in Mauao and ran to help, the New Zealand Herald reported.

"I could just hear people screaming, so I just parked up and ran to help," he told the paper.

"I was one of the first there. There were six or eight other guys there on the roof of the toilet block with tools just trying to take the roof off because we could hear people screaming: 'Help us, help us, get us out of here'."

Later the voices stopped, he said.

New Zealand's Fire and Emergency commander William Pike told reporters earlier today that people at the camp had instantly tried to dig into the rubble and heard voices.

"Our initial fire crew arrived and were able to hear the same," he said.

But rescuers soon withdrew everyone from the site because of the risk of dangerous earth movements, Pike said.

Asked if voices had been heard since then, he said: "Not that I know of, no."

Reporting with AFP

It's been over seven hours since the first landslide hit in Mauao, at the base of Mount Maunganui, in New Zealand's North Island, but there's still a lot we don't know, including how many people were trapped, their identities and details of any potential fatalities. 

If you're just tuning in, you can get yourself up to speed with this handy explainer my colleague Max Walden from the Asia Pacific Newsroom has put together.

It's now 4:45pm in New Zealand and police in their latest update have said the situation remains ongoing, with separate "rescue" operations continuing at Mount Maunganui and Welcome Bay Road.

An unspecified number of people remain trapped in the first landslide, while two are unaccounted for from the Welcome Bay incident, Superintendent Tim Anderson said.

"The last thing we need is rubberneckers in the area," he said, urging for the public to keep the areas clear for emergency services to work in.

Superintendent Anderson described Thursday's landslides as "one in 100 years events".

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson has told the ABC "urgent inquiries" are underway to determine whether any Australians were caught up in this morning's landslide.

"Our thoughts are with those affected by the landslide at New Zealand’s Mount Maunganui," they said in a statement.

Australian nationals in New Zealand who may be in need of emergency assistance, including evacuations, can reach out to DFAT's consular support service on +61 2 6261 3305.

Amy Till witnessed the landslide off Mauao from a helicopter. 

In this video she shot, you can see the scale of the slip, which destroyed structures and overturned vehicles at a holiday park in Mount Maunganui. 

Surf Life Saving NZ has cancelled a lifesaving sport competition that was due to be held at the Mount Maunganui club this weekend. 

The Eastern Regional Championships were due to start tomorrow and run through to Sunday. 

The organisation said out of respect for the family of the people who were still unaccounted for, it had decided "it would not be appropriate or logistically possible for the event to proceed this weekend". 

Evacuation centres have been set up in the area around Mount Maunganui. 

The local surf lifesaving club is being used as an evacuation centre and community hub to provide support to emergency services and the local community. 

While the surf lifesaving club is being used as the official centre, the Otumoetai Church of Christ has also opened its doors for anyone in need of shelter. 

Dion Siluch was at Mount Hot Pools, a swimming facility at the base of Mauao when the landslide occurred. 

Video he captured and shared with RNZ shows how close a caravan from the nearby holiday park came to tumbling into a pool below. 

If you're just tuning in, we are currently following two search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of landslides on New Zealand's North Island. 

Here's what we know at this stage: 

• New Zealand has been lashed with heavy rain which caused landslides in locations across the North Island
• Several people, including a young girl, are unnacounted for after a slip hit a holiday park at the base of Mauao in Mount Maunganui
• Two people are missing after a separate landslip in Welcome Bay
• Rescue efforts are being hampered by unstable ground

A witness, Nix Jaques, was about to walk up Mauao when she heard an incredibly loud noise.

"I turned around and I could see the land coming down onto some structures," she told RNZ. 

"There were some vehicles that were moved. It came down on an ablutions block — I believe there were some people in the showers — and it shifted a campervan, there was a family with a campervan."

She spoke to a couple missing a child and tried to help in the early stages but said emergency services arrived quite quickly afterwards.

Reporting with RNZ