Clean Up Underway Following Awakeri Tornado

Clean up is underway in Awakeri following a small tornado which moved through the area yesterday afternoon.

Fire and Emergency were notified at 2.45pm after a 111 call reporting damage from a tornado in Awakeri.

"Six crews attended and checked houses in the area that appeared to have been affected by the tornado. They put temporary coverings on the roofs of two houses. The last crew had left the area by 5.30pm," a Fire and Emergency spokesperson says.

A source had told 1XX News that roofs were lifted off houses between the State Highway 2 turnoff and Te Rahu Road.

MetService Meterologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane says there was widespread thunderstorm activity over parts of the North Island yesterday, with one storm in particular which tracked towards Whakatāne.

"There was a period of time where it looks like it spawned a small tornado which unfortunately resulted in all of the damage that we saw," Makgabutlane says.

"So the conditions that we saw with this was different wind directions which then create a bit of spin within the air. And then once that thunderstorm moves over, that's kind of what starts to kick things off. And then if conditions are right, then that's when we start to see some of those tornadoes like we saw yesterday,"

"Tornadoes are quite a tricky phenomenon to track, firstly, because they're so short-lived, they may result in a lot of damage, but they are quite short-lived," Makgabutlane says.

"The other thing is that sometimes they happen in a place where they're not able to be observed by a person. So there could be tornadoes happening in places, but we just never hear about it or we don't know about it,"

"In Aotearoa New Zealand, the area that is most prone to tornadoes is actually western parts of the country. So western parts of the South Island, western parts of the North Island, but other areas are definitely no strangers to tornadoes either,"

"The best thing I would say is that if we have thunderstorms expected in an area and especially if there are strong winds as well, definitely take extra care and be on the lookout for that potential," Makgabutlane says.