Landscape Changes in the Kitchener Avalanche Path, Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park After the Record‐Breaking July 2022 Storm

Three‐dimensional landscape changes were investigated in the Kitchener Avalanche Path, Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand, after an extreme storm in July 2022. The Path features an earthen diversion berm constructed in 2018 to mitigate the risk of avalanches to the adjacent Aoraki/Mount Cook Village. The berm performed as designed during a significant snow avalanche and related record‐breaking winter rain event in 2022. However, damage to a section of the berm was observed from rain runoff during the storm. This study quantifies the impact of the storm on the Kitchener path runout zone, including the berm. Surveys conducted over five epochs (2008, 2018 a , 2018 b , 2022, and 2023) highlight the topographic changes from preconstruction through post‐storm conditions. Using the derived digital elevation models, volume changes were estimated based on 2D cross‐profiles and 3D DEM‐differencing. Although significant erosion in the lower section of the berm was observed (–759 ± 58 m 3 ), minimal erosion along the inside face of the berm from avalanche impact was detected. Observed changes provide insights into the dynamic landscape, signalling that rain‐induced erosion has significant impacts on engineered earthen protection structures. The future performance of the berm may require increasingly frequent repairs from extreme rain events causing further erosion.