Power lines are down and there are widespread outages following a chaotic tornado that ripped through Mangawhai overnight. Video / Hayden Woodward, Dean Purcell. Images / Supplied
The woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The neighbour said the property was a “write-off”.
His own home and the cars in the driveway had also been badly damaged, he said.
“Our garage is punctured outwards, every window is pretty much shattered, 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.
“It is something I’ve never experienced before, it was horrible.”
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The Northland community of Mangawhai could be without power for several days after tornado-like winds tore through the region, lifting roofs and downing trees.
Two people were seriously injured when the severe storm hit the beachside town just before 3am and others were rescued from damaged homes by Fire and Emergency. A large number of visitors were in the area for the holiday weekend.
The storm also struck Waipu and Ruakākā, though Mangawhai appeared to be worst-hit.
Daylight has revealed the fury and destructive force of the early morning tornado with a number of homes on ridge-top street Old Waipu Rd left gutted and exposed to the elements.
Upper levels have been sheared off and roofs ripped away.
Lawns and surrounding property is littered with debris from the modern homes.
Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson told the Herald that the damage to power infrastructure was extensive.
Jepson, who lives in Mangawhai, said Northpower had told him that two phases of the electricity infrastructure had been damaged. By 11am power was restored to all but 480 homes - surrounding the Mangawhai village.
“It might take them a couple of days to get the Mangawhai village back up. That tells you that the damage is pretty extensive.”
Jepson said it would also require significant work to clear trees from roads, which were currently preventing travel around the community. Some houses which had roofs damaged would also need to be “shored up” until repairs could be carried out.
“The severity of [the storm] is that we had the top storey of one house completely lifted off with the occupants in it. So it would have been a terrifying experience.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said they were responding to multiple calls after a “reported tornado” around 3am this morning brought trees down, lifted roofs and damaged buildings.
Two people were taken to hospital in a serious condition, one to Auckland Hospital via helicopter and another by ambulance to North Shore Hospital.
Response co-ordinator Graeme Quensell said firefighters from several brigades in the area were assisting residents and other crews had been dispatched from Auckland.
So far, they had received around 16 calls from Mangawhai and one from Langs Beach.
Northpower said on its website that 4730 homes are still without power in Mangawhai, Mangawhai Heads and Langs Beach.
“We have a widespread outage affecting all of our network due to a TORNADO damaging property and power lines in the wider Mangawhai Area,” Northpower said.
“We are currently assessing the situation and will update the information when we can. Please treat all lines and equipment as LIVE at all times. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”
The clean-up and aftermath at the Mangawhai Heads Camping ground after an intense lightning storm that hit Mangawhai overnight. Many people were up, securing their tents and camping setup. Photo / NZME
Quensell said that people in the area should wait until daylight to assess damage to their property. Residents should also avoid driving in the area emergency services are not held up.
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.
“It’s just massive. And now we’re stuck – the motorhome is absolutely munted.”
One camper staying in a tent at Mangawhai Heads said he was woken by the intense lightning around 2am, then the rain and wind started to pick up.
“I went outside to check our campsite when a massive wind surge hit and ripped away our gazebo, I grabbed it before it flew into other tents and yelled for my brother-in-law who raced out to help. That’s when other people started coming out to secure their sites.
“A few minutes later it became very calm, not a breath of wind and the rain stopped.”
Hato Hone St John was notified of the incident at 3.01am, dispatching one helicopter, four ambulances, one manager and two rapid response vehicles. The Major Incident Support Team (MIST) was on standby, it said.
Police said they were assisting with tornado-related incidents in Mangawhai township and the roading network in the area.
MetService said it could not identify whether it was a tornado as the radar wasn’t close enough to the area to pick it up, but there was a line of thunderstorms and strong gusts – which can be just as damaging as a small tornado.
More unsettled weather is forecast today, with thunderstorms possible in the top half of the North Island this morning and the lower half of the island in the afternoon. Heavy showers and rain are forecast for most of the country.
Metservice has issued heavy rain warnings today for Taranaki, the Tasman District west of Motueka, and Westland District. Up to 150mm of rain could fall in these regions before 6pm.
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