A Central Hawke's Bay man thought he had escaped the worst of yesterday's "horrendous" winds before his shed collapsed on his car, motorbike, and workshop.

Folker Liebenow said his Raukawa property was not usually affected by the wind as it was located in a "woody" valley, but it was wracked by the the estimated 140km/h wind which began gusting on Wednesday.

"It was horrendous, it kept me up," he said, "I was worried about the house."

At 2pm yesterday he heard a loud bang, and went outside to find the roof of his shed had collapsed onto Mr Liebenow's workshop containing electrical tools, a 52-year-old motorbike he had rebuilt several years ago, and a 1998 BMW.

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Photo / Folker Liebenow
Photo / Folker Liebenow

The motorbike sustained a small amount of damage to the windscreen, and Mr Liebenow guessed the car would be damaged on its bonnet and roof, but they would have to wait until the roof was removed to find out.

"The car isn't worth a lot, but it's worth a lot to me," he said.

A family dog was also taken to the vets, after eating some rat poison which had been spilt when the roof came down.

Family members would be helping lift the roof tomorrow, but Mr Liebenow said he thought the shed, which has been standing since 1961, was irreparable.

Photo / Folker Liebenow
Photo / Folker Liebenow

"It's not devastating, it's just a bloody nuisance," he said.

Severe westerly gales swept through Hawke's Bay over the past two days. On Wednesday, MetService forecast severe westerly gales with gusts of 140km/h in exposed parts of Hawke's Bay south of Napier and the Tararua District. Yesterday this changed to gusts of 120km/h.

MetService said winds of this strength can cause damage to trees and powerlines, and make driving hazardous, especially for motorcycles and high-sided vehicles.

Photo / Folker Liebenow
Photo / Folker Liebenow

Hastings deputy principal rural fire officer Gordon Foster said early yesterday morning they received a callout to Maraetotara Rd after a branch had fallen, catching some wires and setting the ground on fire. They had returned at 10.30am yesterday after a stump reignited.

They also attended a fire with Hastings Fire service yesterday afternoon where wind caused a controlled burn-off to spread to a pile of sawdust. Mr Foster said with these winds people should be reminded not to light fires, and if they did to make sure they were properly extinguished.