Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, has been hit by a tornado, two months after the wider region was devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle and three months after the city was struck by deadly flooding.
Auckland Emergency Management said it began receiving reports of “localised havoc” around 9pm on Sunday, according to the NZ Herald. Authorities received more than 30 calls, with roofs lifted off homes and trees toppled.
“It’s a scary scene here in the neighbourhood,” East Tāmaki resident Manpreet Braar told the paper. “People are heartbroken seeing the condition of their houses and roofs. You can sense the fear factor upon having a look at the damage.”
Another resident told Stuff news website the tornado had smashed his dining room window and sent glass shards flying across the room “like bullets”. Priyank Aro said his family “feared for our life” and fled outside to find that the “scene was really bad”, with trees and fences knocked down.
No injuries were reported.
Firefighters helped residents put tarpaulins over their roofs overnight and Fire and Emergency incident controller David McKeown said most of the damage reports were from homes located in about 11 streets from Golflands to East Tāmaki.
New Zealand was also hit by more than 14,000 lighting strikes in the 12 hours to 6am on Monday, the Met Service said, with more heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast for the South Island.
Police in Nelson said another tornado struck the Upper Moutere area on Monday, with 12 houses either losing their roofs or having them lifted and residents in the surrounding area reporting power outages.
⚡ From 6pm yesterday to 6am this morning, 14,002 lightning strikes were recorded, 694 over land
— MetService (@MetService) April 9, 2023
📊 The top 3 regions for lightning activity were Waikato (228 strikes), Nelson/Tasman (149 strikes), and Bay of Plenty (110 strikes)
⛈ More on the way today from the Tasman Sea pic.twitter.com/kXNfJPCZP5
Four people were killed in January when Auckland, a city of 1.6 million people on New Zealand’s North Island, was hit by what insurers said was the “biggest climate event” in the country’s history.
Flood waters swept through streets and down highways, causing landslides and sink holes and temporarily shuttering Auckland airport.
That disaster was followed weeks later by Cyclone Gabrielle, which killed 11 people and left thousands displaced as flood waters and landslides destroyed homes. The prime minister, Chris Hipkins, called a national state of emergency and said it was “the most significant weather event New Zealand has seen in this century”.
Climate change is causing episodes of heavy rainfall to become more common and more intense in New Zealand, though the impact varies by region.
