Nick Berthoud, an unsettled resident and worried neighbour tells the Herald about his experience through the 'tornado' like winds in Mangawhai overnight.
Video / NZ Herald
Strangers have turned up at the doors of devastated homes to offer a helping hand following the Mangawhai tornado.
“A lot of that won’t be recompensed, it’s just coming out of the goodness of their hearts,” he said.
One example was at the badly damaged home of Joyce Chappell on Old Waipu Rd where 30 to 40 strangers came to help following the tornado.
“I just thought that was so fantastic,” Chappell’s son Marcus said.
Glass, tiles and more had littered the driveway but were gone by Tuesday.
Debris which flew into homes during Sunday's tornado now sat piled on roadsides in Mangawhai. Photo / Brodie Stone
Joyce’s garage door was bent and twisted, and the front door had been completely blown out - likely when the conservatory was mangled and an outdoor table smashed into the back glass door.
“It was like the noise of a jet plane coming into your house. It lasted no longer than a minute and then it was silence - just eerie silence,” Chappell said.
Her roof was ripped off and later covered by temporary tarpaulins thanks to community members.
Joyce Chappell's home's roof was destroyed in the tornado and community members helped cover it until a proper solution could be found. Photo / Alex Burton
Neighbour Gary Smith’s home was also badly damaged.
His roof was also torn off. His garage door ripped out and folded in two, and a sheet of plywood went through the window into a bedroom.
“The room looks like it’s been shot with a shotgun. There’s glass embedded in the wall - the whole room is toast.”
“My friend’s got a sign writing business on Old Waipu Rd and that was like a blender had been through it.”
Dan Klink and his wife made sandwhiches for workers on Sunday after he sorted the roof of his butcher's business. Photo / Brodie Stone
Residents Filip and Jess, who did not want their surnames used, were also lucky to get away uninjured when the tornado ripped through their neighbour’s home, sending debris flying in their direction.
They were left with around $50,000 to $100,000 worth of damagage.
“... The window smashed and we just grabbed the kids and ran into the garage,” Filip said.
“We only had a second to run into the pitch black,” Jess said.
Filip looked outside soon after to find most of his neighbours doing the same.
The couple could hear the sound of a woman screaming a few streets away but saw people were already helping.
Filip said the damage on their street was as if a bomb had exploded.
Jess was amazed by the “phenomenal” community spirit shown during the clean up.
“ ... that’s been part of the healing process - everyone just shares that collective experience.”
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
