Wild weather brings down tree on car near Rotorua

Ngongotaha residents woke this morning to the sight of a large tree crashed down on a parked car after wild weather overnight.

It's among the mess that is being cleaned up around the country after wild winds battered the North Island, bringing down trees and knocking down power poles.

Auckland was the worst hit and 100,000 homes and businesses are without power as winds reached hurricane-like speeds of between 140km/h and 213km/h.

A tree fell on a car in Streamdale Pl, Ngongotaha. Photo/Gloria Stafford

The Rotorua Lakes Council this morning reported that compared with the rest of the North Island, the city got off relatively lightly.

The council's weather update on its website said contractors dealt with eight tree falls around the district but all roads were now open with further clean up work required today.

The tree falls attended overnight were on Amohia St, Pererika St, Maniatutu Rd, Broadlands Rd, Rerewhakaaitu Rd, Jackson Rd, Tarukenga Rd and Streamdale Pl.

Fulton Hogan and Unison Crews were also working to remove a fallen tree on Okataina Rd which has taken out the power lines.

The council's website said the message to motorists after stormy weather was to remain alert and take care as minor surface flooding, slips and further tree falls may still occur.

Ngongotaha resident Sarah McGovern said she was shocked this morning to see a tree had come down across a car in the parking area at the end of her cul-de-sac on Streamdale Pl.

She was up in the night around 1am when the winds were at their worst.

"You could hear bang, crash, bang, crash."

She said residents in the street were out this morning assessing the damage.

"Thank goodness it happened at night or else it could have been similar to the one in town [when a tree came down off Arawa St in January and killed passing motorist Trish Butterworth].

The tree that came down on a car on Streamdale Pl in Ngongotaha. Photo/supplied

McGovern said the wild weather had come out of the blue.

"With all those cyclones we were told to batten down the hatches and have your medical supplies on hand. I was thinking at 1am if anything disastrous happened then we are not prepared. We rely on the media to prepare us but things do happen out of the blue."

The Ngongotaha Volunteer Fire Brigade was called out at 2.30am to clear trees that had fallen down across passing lanes on State Highway 5, near the Tarukenga substation.

Chief fire officer Francis Boag said this morning a crew spent an hour clearing the road.

He said they were "watching to see what happens this morning" as the stormy weather continued.

A Rotorua Fire Brigade spokesman said they had not had any weather-related calls overnight.

He said instead they had had three false alarms, a rubbish fire and a car crash.

The brigade sent one appliance and crew to a large fire at Carter Holt Harvey's Kopine Mill near Thames at 3am.

This morning the crew is being swapped by another, which is on its way from Rotorua.

Fifty firefighters are battling multiple blazes at the mill this morning and strong winds are hampering their efforts.

The damage at Steve Collins' house at Reporoa. Photo / Supplied

Meanwhile, Reporoa resident Steve Collins is having to retrieve his children's trampoline that blew away in the night and smacked into the washing line, knocking it over.

He told the Rotorua Daily Post the family slept through the whole thing.

"We were shocked, mainly because we didn't actually hear it happen. The kids are fine as we didn't lose power like we expected."

* If you see any damage report it to Rotorua Lakes Council on (07) 348 4199.

- Additional reporting by Sam Olley