Slips have shifted farm yards, back yards and a car park in the Dunedin area.
Kerrie Hooper, of Henley, said part of the hill behind his home slid down into the laundry at the back of his house yesterday morning, taking the family's water tank and pets' homes with it.
The family was already dealing with a flooded property from rain earlier in the week. The house was not damaged.
''We've got a dirty big hole in the hill and a front yard full of water.''
The slip meant they no longer had fresh water and the rabbit was living in a chilly bin, the birds were all in one cage and the chickens were on the roof, he said.
''George the pig, he's still on a dry patch out the back.''
He was ''seriously worried'' about the stability of the hill and was keeping a close eye on it.
They would stay in the house because of the animals. Friends had brought them containers of fresh water, he said.
The owner of the Brothers Boutique Hotel in Brown St, Dunedin, was grateful no-one was injured when the wall bordering his property collapsed on Wednesday night.
Rod McMeeken, speaking yesterday from Nelson where he is on holiday, said his son called about 9pm to pass on the bad news.
His son was staying in the two-storey house beside the 15-room hotel, which was closed while the McMeekens were on holiday.
He heard a crash and went outside to find a collapsed Dunedin City Council retaining wall and the back of the hotel car park and the house's back yard
on the street.
Mr McMeeken said he was thankful the wall collapsed at night and not ''during the middle of the day when the kids are walking up and down that street to the schools at either end.''
There had never previously been a problem with the wall.
''It's been there for 100 years - maybe it has been there too long. I don't know,'' Mr McMeeken said.
Council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring said a structural engineer assessed the slip yesterday and believed it was reasonably stable.
More investigation was required to establish the best way to remove the slip, he said.
The Earthquake Commission would need to assess damage to the private property, he said.
He was surprised the wall had fallen, he said, because it had never been problematic.
''Normally, structures like that have sufficient stormwater access and appropriate drainage.''
The street would be closed until the council had the resources to clear the debris, he said.
