What had been a clear, sunny day transformed quickly for Wellingtonians when their city was hit with rain and hail.
Video / Katrina Bennett / Azaria Howell / Melz Thompson / Ashleigh Putt-fallows / Marty Melville
A Hutt Valley school has closed its field and playground due to fallen trees and fence damage from a tornado which left two of the school’s pupils badly injured.
The two children were among those hurt during the tornado that ripped through Lower Hutt on Tuesday, collapsing buildings and hurling debris along streets and through windows.
Flooding was widespread, which along with felled trees blocked roads and cut power to thousands of homes.
The pupils were from Eastern Hutt School and were rushed to hospital after the storm struck shortly after 3pm on Tuesday.
Eastern Hutt School in Lower Hutt, Wellington, where two pupils were injured when a tornado swept through on Tuesday. Photo / Google
A spokesman for Wellington Free Ambulance told the Herald one person was taken to hospital with serious injuries and another in a moderate condition.
Local MP Chris Bishop, whose own electorate office was wrecked during the thunderstorm, took to social media yesterday afternoon concerned about the welfare of the injured kids.
Eastern Hutt School board of trustees chairwoman Helen Gerrie said they had recently been told the children were “recovering well”.
Gerrie said: “The situation was managed extremely well and everyone received the care and support they needed.”
A garage in Cornwall St, Lower Hutt that was damaged by Tuesday’s storm. Photo / Marty Melville
She said school staff responded “immediately” to shelter children and parents on-site.
Following a Ministry of Education safety inspection, the school opened yesterday, she said.
“However, the senior field and senior playground are closed due to boundary fence damage and fallen trees.”
Gerrie thanked the emergency services who responded.
Woman trapped under fence, trees uprooted
Meanwhile, a woman was trapped under a collapsed fence and left screaming for help as the freak storm ripped through the central city on Tuesday.
Jenny Ryan was bringing in her wheelie bin when she heard a huge noise and saw debris coming up over the building next door.
Jenny Ryan was trapped under a fence after it collapsed on her in Tuesday’s storm. Photo / Marty Melville
“Then I realised it was a tornado so I squatted down behind the fence to shelter from all the stuff that was flying around.
“The fence started shaking really rapidly then all of a sudden it kind of slowed down. I looked down the driveway and it was just a slow-motion kind of wave of it falling down.”
Storm damage was evident across Lower Hutt on Wednesday morning, with council crews out in force working to restore power and clear debris from city streets.
Damage caused to houses in Lower Hutt by the storm. Photo / Georgina Campbell
Several businesses remained closed as the clean-up continued, including the Salvation Army family store on the corner of Cornwall St and Kings Cres.
