Tornado hits homes in New Plymouth and Ohope

A tornado has caused damage to various properties in New Plymouth.

A roof has been torn down and a tree uprooted near the crossroads of Belt Rd and St. Aubyn St.

Shaun Hall, who caught a video of the tornado in New Plymouth, said he was driving home from work when he turned the corner and all the power went out.

"I thought & # 39; oh, that's weird & # 39; and I could not see anything because it was pitch dark.

"When I persuaded I saw iron sheets fly through the air and I immediately clicked what it was.

"I quickly grabbed my phone and took a quick video."

Hall said he saw that about five or six roofs were ripped near houses.

"It probably took about 20 seconds before it went on the road," he said.

"I was not so excited to follow, not when the iron came over the hood of my ute."

Hall said he was excited to see the tornado "because I've never seen anything like this before".

& # 39; But when I saw the iron coming from the houses, it hit a kind of blow that people's homes were actually destroyed.

"I had the dog with me and he also started to become restless, so I thought it might be a bit worse than I think."

Police and Fire and Emergency NZ are present.

Power was also cut to parts of New Plymouth after it was struck by lightning, thunder and heavy rain.

Power is off to 1712 houses around Moturoa, according to Powerco.

The power went off at 5.30 pm and Powerco estimated that it would be restored at 10.30 pm.

Further north, several houses in Ohope were also damaged after a tornado was struck around 5.30 pm.

A spokesperson for the police said they received phone calls about a tornado that formed houses and roofs and damaged them on Harbor Rd, Ohope, near Whakatane.

"It does not look like there are any casualties, but emergency services respond to reports of a tornado that blows off some roofs and damages some homes," she said.

General Manager of the Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park, Mark Inman, told the Herald that the park suffered "significant damage", but everyone was safe and healthy.

Inman said the tornado formed over the ocean and was swept across the park earlier this evening.

They were still trying to assess the full extent of the damage caused, but would have to wait until tomorrow morning, said Inman.

MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said that an active row of thunderstorms went through New Plymouth with a corresponding tornado.

"That's just gradually declining and slowly heading east," he said.

"We do not expect it to get even worse." There is still a risk of small tornadoes for the next short time in the wider area, but the line of thunderstorms that this would have caused is now out of the city. disappeared. "

Adams said it was difficult to predict where a tornado will strike.