'Like a demon': Roaring tornado hits Far North home during owner's morning prayers

Helen Pirini was saying her prayers this morning when a tornado struck the town of Pukenui in the Far North. Photo / Supplied

Helen Pirini was on her knees saying morning prayers when she heard a sound like an approaching freight train building up through the Far North town of Pukenui.

"I heard it coming, it was like the roar of a very loud train," she said.

"I got up, opened the blinds, and thought; 'Oh my goodness'."

Coming directly at her front door was a tornado.

A side view of the damage wrought by the tornado. Photo / Supplied

It had touched down in Pukenui, north of Kaitaia, about 9.30am and would blow the roof off at least one house, topple a large boat sitting in a front yard, toss trampolines skyward and flatten trees.

Luckily, no one would be injured.

But - peering through her glass sliding doors from the corner of State Highway 1 and Waterfront Rd - Pirini was in for one hell of a fright.

"It was getting louder and louder, and it was trying to come in through my door," she said.

"There was all these branches swirling around and smacking into it, and I thought it was going to break."

She pushed her hand against the glass to try and hold it steady.

"I was screaming out, 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus', because I know that is the most powerful name in creation," Pirini told the Herald.

One of the first victims of Thursday morning's tornado at Pukenui was this boat in Fitzgerald Rd. Photo / Peter Jackson

After hurling branches against the front door the tornado backtracked and engulfed a nearby tree.

"It just attacked the tree - it was a big tree, and it just slit it and wrenched it out of the ground and threw it onto my lawn as if to say, 'There you are then'."

But it wasn't finished and soon sent debris crashing into the kitchen window of Piri's house.

Luckily, the window held, but as Pirini rushed to take a look, she instead saw the tornado pulling the side of her large shed apart.

"It was still going while I was watching it - picking up these great big hunks of stuff and throwing it all over the place and out onto the road."

Helen Pirini was saying her prayers this morning when a tornado struck the town of Pukenui in the Far North. Photo / Supplied

The winds tore long sheets of metal from her shed and twisted the metal pylons about as if they were wire, Pirini said.

Part of the shed smashed into the side of Pirini's caravan, punching a hole through its side.

One long sheet of metal flew into the air and landed four houses down.

"It was like a demon," Pirini said of the tornado tearing her shed apart.

Luckily, it didn't last long. But the clean-up and the danger hadn't passed when the Herald spoke with Pirini.

She had been in contact with her insurer and hoped they would help fix the damage.

Pylons on Helen Piri's shed smashed a hole through her caravan. Photo / Supplied

But in the meantime, she and her son-in-law - who was currently recovering from a hip operation - had been trying to tie down loose metal and debris.

She said that since the tornado, passed the wind had died down but powerful gusts were still blowing in.

"It's still very dangerous," she said.

Still, Piri was just thankful no one had been walking or driving by the water along Waterfront Rd when the tornado hit, given how part of her shed had blown four doors down.

She also acknowledged it might have been a bit foolish to remain right next to her glass door during the tornado, but the sight of its raw power was transfixing.

"I thought, 'Ooh, I shouldn't be standing here," Pirini said with a chuckle.

"But I was standing there because I was intrigued."