Nick Beerthound, an unsettled resident and worried neighbour tells the Herald about his experience through the 'tornado' like winds in Mangawhai overnight.
Video / NZ Herald
More unsettled weather, including possible thunderstorms, is forecast for most of the country today.
Some residents in tornado-hit Mangawhai to be without power until 5pm tomorrow.
Around 50 homes and buildings have been damaged – some extensively – by a tornado that ripped through Mangawhai earlier today.
Two people are in hospital with serious injuries after the winds ripped through the beachside town packed with holidaymakers over the Northland and Auckland Anniversary weekend.
A woman wasasleep in her bed when she was thrown out of the second storey of her house, a neighbour to the property on ridge-top street Old Waipu Road said.
“And apparently the tornado just came through and ripped them across, and she ended up on the roof of their carport.”
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He said his home and the cars in the driveway had also been badly damaged.
“Our garage is punctured outwards, every window is pretty much shattered, [there’s] glass littered everywhere, our outdoor furniture is non-existent – it’s probably at some other place down the road.”
He said they had expected bad weather but the forecast did not indicate how severe the storm would be.
Kaipara Civil Defence Emergency Management controller John Burt said the township was dealing with extensive damage as a result of the twister that touched down around 3am.
He said trees and power lines had been toppled in the storm, causing extensive damage in the Mangawhai village area.
He urged people to keep safe, stay home and remain well away from contractors working to restore power and clear damage.
Daylight revealed the fury and destructive force of the early-morning tornado, with a number of homes on Old Waipu Rd left gutted and exposed to the elements.
Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said Mangawhai was “full” during the storm – its permanent population of 6000 residents nearly doubled to about 10,000 for the long weekend.
“It might take them a couple of days to get the Mangawhai village back up. That tells you that the damage is pretty extensive,” said Jepson, who lives in Mangawhai.
Moir St, the main street in the Mangawhai village, is closed as power crews work to restore the power lines. Debris is strewn over the road and fences are down.
Damage to homes on Old Waipu Rd has proven severe after a tornado hit Mangawhai on January 26, 2025. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Emergency response teams are currently surveying the extent of the damage, using drones to assess the full impact across the township.
Northland MP Grant McCallum said there were now only small parts of the township without power. These streets had sustained the worst of the impact and were “heavily damaged”.
He said Northpower was now reporting just 247 customers were still without power and expected electricity to be restored to everyone by midnight.
There is a cordon in place around the Mangawhai village area, where the tornado has caused the most damage. Police are being kept busy controlling residents and visitors.
A Civil Defence update said a number of active hazards remained in the village areas, including exposed power lines and fallen trees.
People inside the cordon are being advised to stay in place and not walk or cycle in the areas, and to treat all power lines as live.
“If you do not live in the affected areas, please do not enter the cordon. We need space for the emergency services to do their job and secure the area,” the Civil Defence alert said.
A number of active hazards remain in the village areas, including exposed power lines and fallen trees.
Emergency Management Minister Simeon Brown said he had been briefed on the storm.
“My heart goes out to those affected, including those seriously injured,” he said.
Dianne Hope-Ede, from Auckland, said she and her husband were sleeping in their motorhome at a property in Mangawhai when the storm struck.
“It was terrifying. The wind was just getting louder and louder … then there was a crash. It was like an earthquake. A tree had fallen down and harpooned the top of the motorhome. It came through right where [my partner’s] head was a moment ago.”
Another tree limb crashed through the side of the motorhome.
When they went outside, large trees had fallen around the property and the neighbour’s garage had been “stoved in”. Other homes had lost roofs, she said.
The storm also struck Waipu and Ruakākā, though Mangawhai appeared to be the worst-hit area.
