The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Farmer's horror as four cows found dead after lightning strike at Hamilton farm

NZ Herald
4 Dec, 2018 12:10 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Electrocuted cows seen in Hamilton. Facebook /Maateiwarangi "THE BEAST" Heta-Morris

Four cows have met with a horrific end after a lightning strike on a Hamilton farm.

Maateiwarangi Heta-Morris posted a video on Facebook showing footage of a group of cows lying lifeless on a dirt road, accompanied by the caption "Be safe whanau ... the bro just sent me this video of his cows getting smoked by lightning. Meat for days."

Heta-Morris told Newstalk ZB that the video was captured by his friend James Miles while he was working on a farm just outside Hamilton this morning.

"The bro was just going out to work and 'boom' they got hit by lightning," he said.

Heta-Morris said the cows died as a result of a lightning strike around 8am.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said his friend, James, was "a bit bummed".

"Because it is a bit of a profit that has been lost on each cow. It would be about $10,000 - $12,000," Heta-Morris said.

James Miles told 1 NEWS the cows died from a single lightning strike.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It was an unreal feeling thinking that could of easily been myself or the boss," he said

"We were milking the last row and had a little joke about better get the wife to pick him up to take him home 'cause we might get struck by lightning.

"We had a little chuckle about that and we carried on our way, and the boss left on quad bike to go home," he told 1 News.

"About five minutes later, I got a call saying to quickly turn the power off - we have had four cows struck by lightning."

Discover more

New Zealand

Wild weather: Workers' horror as woman collapses after lightning strike

03 Dec 08:55 PM
New Zealand

Wild weather for some while the rest get brief respite

04 Dec 04:43 PM
New Zealand

Lightning splits 150-year-old redwood

05 Dec 12:23 AM
New Zealand

Five cows struck dead by lightning in Te Awamutu

17 Dec 01:46 AM

Miles took the footage as he arrived back at the location on a quad bike.

It has been viewed more than 66,000 times, with hundreds of people expressing their shock at the event.

The event is just one of many storm-related incidents today as violent weather ripped through the central North Island.

The storm which pummelled Auckland this morning also saw a woman taken to hospital after a lightning strike in Māngere, caused the airport to stop refuelling planes, flights to be cancelled and delayed, and houses to shake.

More than 800 lightning strikes have also knocked out power to some rural parts of Auckland.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

NorthTec cuts 58 roles in restructure to stay financially viable

31 Oct 04:46 PM
The Country

'Neighbours thought I was a bit abnormal': Farmer's planting idea pays off

31 Oct 04:05 PM
The Country

This community garden is cultivating more than just plants

31 Oct 04:00 PM

Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

NorthTec cuts 58 roles in restructure to stay financially viable
The Country

NorthTec cuts 58 roles in restructure to stay financially viable

‘You’re going to lose the heart of NorthTec’: Staff fear support stripped back.

31 Oct 04:46 PM
'Neighbours thought I was a bit abnormal': Farmer's planting idea pays off
The Country

'Neighbours thought I was a bit abnormal': Farmer's planting idea pays off

31 Oct 04:05 PM
This community garden is cultivating more than just plants
The Country

This community garden is cultivating more than just plants

31 Oct 04:00 PM


Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable
Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP