KEY POINTS:
A bolt of lightning struck a tree in South Auckland yesterday, knocking a woman off her feet, shattering windows and damaging electrical appliances
The force of the strike was so loud residents feared a plane had crashed or that a P lab had exploded.
But what they heard was lightning striking a tree, causing thousands of dollars of damage in Oakmont Place, Wattle Downs.
The lighting bolt came during heavy rain at 10.30am, sending a shard of wood through a window near where an 18-month old toddler was playing.
Several windows exploded and a power surge occurred in three households - which may need to replace all their electrical appliances - as the lightning struck just metres from where Kellie Wooding was standing.
The 29-year-old was getting her three cats out of the rain when the tree above her "exploded".
"I just ended up on my hands and knees," she said.
"Everything just went orange. It was like an explosion noise. I had no idea what it was. It just sounded like something was blown up. The tree was smoking. I lost my vision. I was really frightened."
An ambulance took Miss Wooding to a medical centre so her blurry vision could be assessed. It came right later.
Debris from the tree scattered over six properties, some pieces ending up 100m away. "A bit of loose timber went through the side of the house. With the amount of debris, I can't believe somebody wasn't hurt."
Neighbour Nicole Berriman also lost window panes and her phoneline, which "melted" during the explosion.
"I saw a blue light just go flashing across the sky. It was quite horrific. Our phone box just blew inside ... We had a few smashed windows."
Mrs Berriman said a neighbouring family, who had since gone out, were lucky their toddler, aged about 18 months, had not been injured.
"We had three ambulances here, because the little girl was playing in the lounge when the window smashed around her. She's okay. She was near the play tent as the window smashed."
Families from three homes were staying with friends or relatives last night because their electricity supplies had been cut. It is possible the homes will need to be rewired.
Susan Takerei and husband John, who were out at the time of the storm, may also have lost all their appliances. The hot-water cupboard and phone jack were charred black among appliances that Manurewa firefighters found smouldering. "The TV's been blown away from the wall and there's a hole in the wall," Mrs Takerei said.
It was unclear what would need replacing, but it appeared they would include "the TV, computer, fridge, washing machine - anything that was plugged in".
Mrs Takerei said some people thought a P-lab had exploded.
"My nephew, he lives probably 1km away, he thought a plane had crashed. He rang his Mum and said a plane's crashed.
"Everybody's had a bit of a lucky escape."
Resident Jo Keat said it was likely every electrical appliance that was plugged in at her home would need to be replaced. Insurance assessors would let her know today.
"All the windows in the garage are shattered and broken and the power surge just fried the mains."
