Mum's horror as tornado forms before her eyes and tears town apart

Tuesday, 10 April 2018

Jasmine Jordan watched in horror as a tornado formed before her eyes and tore through the Taranaki town of Rahotu on Tuesday morning.

Jordan had been watching the lightning show with her two children, aged six and eight, when the dark clouds took a sinister turn.

'Then it looked like a rain front coming through and then it just twisted right in front of us.

'There was a wall of water and then I saw it kind of twist.'

READ MORE * Live: Snow, heavy rain and plummeting temperatures as storm hits

The tornado was part of a storm which hit Taranaki on Tuesday significantly damaging eight homes and destroying three of them in the coastal township. The strong winds and driving rain also closed roads, schools, the airport and cut power to more than 12,000 properties.

Roofs and iron were torn off houses and strewn through nearby paddocks, trees were toppled and power poles brought down by the twister and there were reports of a cow shed being blown away.

Jordan said as soon as she saw the tornado she and her children made a dash for their safe spot and hunkered down until the danger had passed.

'They knew exactly where to go, they were freaking out but they handled it really well.'

The twister tore half of the roof off Jordan's house, buckled a roller door and damaged her car but she wasn't concerned with her material possessions.

'No one has been hurt, which is amazing. That's the main thing, there is no loss of life.'

Another resident Demi Bocock said she was woken up by a massive rumbling about 6.45am.

'I looked out and there was a massive forked lightning storm happening. And it was just like I had never seen the sky like that before. It was like purple, like black and purple.'

She said as she was watching the storm through the window about 7.30am everything went quiet.

'It got real bad and it just went dead silent. Real, real silent. A tornado just came up off the beach and through the paddocks.'

She said it destroyed everything in its path.

The Civil Defence said people with damage to homes and property are advised to take photos of the damage and contact their insurance company. 

Severe wind and rain warnings remain in place until 11pm and 1am respectively. Outbreaks of heavy rain are expected about southern and central parts of the North Island on Tuesday night and Wednesday, with the heaviest rain expected in Taranaki, Whanganui, and Taihape.

Severe gales are also forecast for the region.

A police media spokeswoman said roadwork barrriers were blowing over the road on Devon St West in Blagdon about 8.20pm. Contractors had been contacted.  A fence also fell over a bank on Kindberg Rd.

Metservice meteorologist April Clark said the complex low was still sitting to the west of Taranaki.

'What passed over this morning was a trough or a squall line, a long line of thunderstorms,' she said.

She said wind gusts had not been as high as expected but gusts up to 120kmh were forecast this evening.

'We still have the broad scale of this low sitting to the west and that's set to move across the North Island this evening.'

The winds would also change from a westerly to more of a southerly direction, bringing cold temperatures with it. 

'They're easing off as we head into tomorrow and the low pulls away to the east of the whole country.

'It will be a bit of a cold showery day and easing up as we head into Thursday.'

More than 1000 homes will remain without power overnight, with the region from Okato to Pātea the worst hit. Much of Powerco's North Island network is bracing for further high winds tonight.

Powerco network operations manager Phil Marsh said crews had made significant gains throughout the day restoring supply.

'About 3000 were still without power at 4.30pm but we hope to get that down to about 1300 tonight,' he said. 'Work will begin at first light

Wednesday to continue restoration work.'

Parts of the Taranaki network have been hard hit, he said.

'We have numerous poles down while others are leaning over and in a dangerous state. We will not reconnect lines until all the poles and wires are safe.'

Civil Defence emergency management group controller Craig Campbell-Smart said the damage is widespread but mainly in the coastal areas.

He said some inland roads were closed, and there were also disruptions to telecommunications after damage to sites owned by Spark and PrimoWireless.

'There are gas reticulation production stations that have closed but that is a national issue around supply, but that is managed by First Gas.'

He said it is unlikely a state of emergency will be declared.

'We discussed that with the mayors earlier this morning. It's at a point where we don't need any of the emergency powers we'd get with a state of emergency declaration. Unless it escalates and we have another tornado or another impact, it's not required.'

Emergency services staff descended on the tiny town to assist locals affected by by the tornado.

Jason Crowe, Fire and Emergency New Zealand acting assistant area commander for Taranaki, said brigades from Okato and New Plymouth were helping out local firefighters.

'We've been securing loose items, covering roofs, if it's safe to do so, and protecting people's property essentially and making sure that the area is safe,' Crowe said.

Okato fire chief Jared McBride was part of the heavy presence of emergency services in Rahotu.

He described the scene as 'total carnage'.

'Our crew is just knuckling down and heading to where we are sent and helping people secure roofs and doing whatever needs to be done.'

A welfare centre has been set up at Rahotu School which is caring for those who have been displaced by the storm. They will be assisted in finding accommodation overnight. 

Several roads near Opunake are blocked by fallen trees and power lines, a police media spokeswoman said.

All flights in and out of the region before midday were cancelled and disruptions continued into the afternoon. 

The Metservice reported more than 6000 lightning strikes hit the region between 7am and 9am.

Dipal Desai, the owner of the Rāhotu Four Square, watched as the roof of her business started lifting off not long after she lost power around 7.15am on Tuesday morning. 

The roof had since came back down but there was a beam coming through the ceiling and staff were working to mop up the water that was coming inside as a result.

Despite this, Desai wasn't too stressed by the wild weather. 

'I'm always ready for a surprise,' she said. 'I'm lucky, other people have suffered more damage than me.' 

Now, the community are rallying together and although Desai has her own business to care for, she's got tea, coffee and milk to offer members of the town and emergency workers. 

'I said 'just take it, I'm more than happy to help'.' 

Taranaki Civil Defence assessed damage and helped people with damaged homes and property. In South Taranaki, there was some surface flooding and roads closed for a time, a South Taranaki District Council spokesman said. Crews helped clear debris after light flooding in Eltham.

Fonterra Farm Source technical sales rep Mel Sorrensen said the strong winds have begun to taper off.

'It's quiet as now after the storm passed through,' she said.

Sorrensen was commuting to work from New Plymouth to Ōpūnake when a tornado struck on Ngariki Road, Warea.

'I was talking to a farmer and he said the wind just picked up, went through the house and then it all went quiet.'

Power is still out in Opunake, with lines down on Wiremu Rd, she said.

'It would be a massive disruption to milking this morning for many farmers.

'They've had it really rough.'

ADVICE FROM CIVIL DEFENCE:

Strong winds are forecast for Taranaki later today. People can take precautions by:

·      Putting your household emergency plan into action and check your getaway kit in case you have to leave in a hurry.

·      Picking up any debris around your house that could be become airborne.

·      Putting rubbish bins, garden furniture and other loose items in the garage or indoors to prevent property damage.

·      Bringing pets in doors. Move stock to shelter. If you have to evacuate, take your pets with you.

·      Closing windows, external and internal doors. Close all curtains to slow down any flying glass.

·      Water supplies can be affected so it is a good idea to store drinking water in containers and fill bathtubs and sinks with water.

Once the strong winds arrive:

·      Stay away from windows and doors.  Shelter in the middle of the house preferably in an internal room such as a bathroom.

·      Do not walk around outside or drive unless absolutely necessary.

·      Listen to your local (state radio station names here) radio station for information.

·      Power cuts are possible in severe weather. Unplug small appliances which may be affected by electrical power surges. If power is lost unplug major appliances to reduce the power surge and possible damage when power is restored.