Experiencing a tornado is not something Mangawhai resident Nick Beerthoud wants to do again.
The Old Waipu Rd resident’s year-old house was badly damaged in Sunday morning’s whirlwind, one of about 50 properties in Mangawhai village badly impacted.
But Beerthoud is extremely grateful no one in his house was hurt and that the community rallied to support those most affected.
The tornado struck the seaside community about 3am on Sunday.
Beerthoud said he was woken by heavy rain and thunder and he went outside to put the outdoor furniture under cover.
Five minutes later there was an intense whirling sound “like a vortex” and he and his wife sheltered in their bedroom wardrobe while their house fell to bits around them.
With their son two rooms down, it was lucky none of them were hurt as 80% of the home’s windows shattered, outdoor furniture was smashed inside, and tiles from a neighbour’s roof broke through their cladding.
Their neighbour, who he knew only as Tina, was not so lucky, however. The tornado smashed through the second storey of her house where she was sleeping, throwing her on to her carport, causing lacerations and broken bones.
Beerthoud said he was the first over to Tina’s house, calling 111 as he went. But within minutes, other neighbours came out to help, including helping keep her calm and supporting the carport so she didn’t fall further.
She was eventually taken by helicopter to hospital, he said.
Emergency services were themselves hampered getting through as downed power poles and trees blocked the road.
Fire and Emergency district manager of Northland Wipari Henwood said the damage from the tornado was the worst damage he had seen.
“It’s very localised, but the damage there is very bad. There are lots of properties affected – our initial estimate is 50.
“There are roofs off houses, trees into houses, trees snapped like twigs, the power poles – which are all concrete – are all snapped off at the base, and there was one cabin tossed like a toy.”
Henwood said firefighters received about 30 emergency calls about 3am, but some crew members of Mangawhai Volunteer Fire Brigade couldn’t even get to the station due to the downed lines and trees.
More firefighters from further afield had to be called in to help, he said.
Henwood said the main focus was keeping safe among the live power lines and getting the two people who were badly injured to safety. Eventually, one patient was taken by helicopter to hospital and the other by ambulance.
Some firefighters had to get out of their trucks and walk around as they went door to door to ensure everyone was safe, he said.
With about 20 power poles downed by the tornado and many other places where wires were down, making the power safe and restoring electricity was a top priority on Sunday.
Kaipara civil defence management local controller John Burt said Northpower did a fantastic job to get power back to most of the area by Sunday afternoon.
Late on Sunday night, about 250 homes were still without power, but the lines company expected Moir St to have power back by midnight. The badly damaged Old Waipu Rd is still not expected to get power until 5pm on Monday.
Burt said with the power lines down on roads, it was a danger to people and civil defence had put cordons around Mangawhai village for safety.
Sightseers were hampering efforts by emergency services, he said.
Burt said Mangawhai had suffered extreme events before, including localised flooding in February 2023 and a tornado in 2020 that did not cause as much damage because it hit farmland.
The geography of the area was to blame for the extreme weather, he said.
“It’s a coastal environment – it’s close to the sea: that helps with the convergence of heat and water with potentially wind and rain. Often it’s this time of year where we get warm seas and storm clouds coming down.”
Nick Beerthoud said while Mangawhai might have strange weather, it has a tight-knit and supportive community.
During daylight hours on Sunday, neighbours in Old Waipu Rd were helping one another secure their roofs, pick up debris, board up windows and simply checking in on one another.
People helped Beerthoud and his family gather up their belongings so they could move out of their damaged house.
“The community response has been unbelievable ... We’ve had so much support from everybody.”
His thoughts went out to his injured neighbour, who not only required surgery, but will not have a home to come back to once she’s out of hospital.
Resident Lisa Lagemaat said while she understood that sightseers shouldn’t be allowed into the cordon, she was disappointed the likes of builders were not allowed in to help secure homes, leaving it to less-skilled neighbours.
She said before the tornado struck, she could see balls of lightning rolling down the road.
The tornado felt like the whole top of her house was coming off, but when it cleared, Lagemaat found it undamaged.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
The Mangawhai tornado seriously injured two people were and damaged 35 homes.