Elderly man in hospital, caravans destroyed in reported tornado in Northland

A caravan was also flipped by the mini tornado. Campers say it rolled about six times.

A man in his mid-80s was trapped hurt inside his flipped motorhome after it was struck by a mini tornado that tore through a Northland campground.

The tornado, which campers say started as a waterspout, also destroyed a caravan moments after its owner had just left for work.

Emergency services were called to Tauranga Bay Holiday Park in Kāeo about 8.45am today.

Emergency services have been called to the Tauranga Bay Holiday Park after reports of a tornado. Photo / Google Maps

Mandy, who did not want her last name used, was parked in her motorhome near Butterfly Bay in the southwest of the park.

She could hear rattling as a strong wind kicked up.

“I didn’t see the tornado but some of the other campers did,” she said.

They told her they had seen a waterspout come in from the sea.

“It just missed us,” Mandy said.

She looked out the window of her motorhome and saw strong winds hurl an awning towards the beach.

“We thought our roof was going to blow away.”

The intense winds lasted about 30 seconds, Mandy said.

She didn’t think much of it until she stepped outside and another camper told her to look toward where the cabins and building blocks were.

Mandy saw debris everywhere and a caravan in pieces.

“It was absolutely destroyed,” she said.

The caravan, parked in the middle of the camp away from the beach, had rolled about six times, Mandy said.

The flipped caravan was blown about 50 metres into a pine tree.

The owner had just left for work before the tornado struck, Mandy said.

“It was headed towards another caravan. They were bracing themselves.”

The caravan flipped about six times.

Closer to the beachfront was a flipped motorhome.

Mandy said an older man, believed to be in his mid-80s, had been trapped inside for about an hour.

Another camper had rushed to help but couldn’t get to him.

“His fridge had opened and there was food everywhere,” Mandy said.

Firefighters from Kāeo and Kerikeri called to the scene were able to free him after 20 minutes.

The man was trapped inside his motorhome for about an hour, campers say.

A Fire and Emergency spokesman said strong winds had moved the caravans causing the man to become trapped.

The man was taken to Bay of Islands Hospital in a moderate condition.

Mandy has returned to the campground annually for the past six years and said she had never seen anything like what happened today.

She said the mini tornado had tracked through the holiday park where the kitchens and cabins were. Power poles had been brought down.

The campground, extremely popular in the summer months, wasn’t busy.

Mandy said a few campers had packed up and left since the tornado hit.

“People were a bit shaken, it was really scary.”

Mandy said conditions were still windy.

MetService said intense rain and thunderstorms in the area meant there was the potential for a tornado.

A spokesperson could not confirm whether one had occurred.

However, wind gusts of up to 75km/h had been recorded in the Kāeo area.