A "mini tornado" has ripped the roof off a house in Waikanae Beach and damaged two others.
Fire and Emergency NZ shift manager Belinda Beets said "either a strong gust of wind or a small tornado" tore swiftly through Waikanae.
Firefighters were helping secure tarpaulins on the affected houses to help make them watertight. Only three houses were affected.
"It just sort of fizzled in and fizzled out," Beets said.
"Had it been any bigger or stronger it probably could have done quite a bit of damage."
She said the "mini tornado" reportedly hit Ashleigh Way and Weggery Drive.
Meanwhile, Kapiti mayor K Gurunathan said a small tornado also brought down a number of trees in Otaihanga, on the southern side of the Waikanae River, but no one was injured. His staff were assessing the damage.
"I don't know whether properties have been damaged or not."
Police received a report in the Waikanae area relating to damage to a roof on Nicholas Place, at 11.12am.
No injuries were reported.
MetService meteorologist Heath Gullery said a line of heavy showers and thunderstorms was passing across the Kapiti coast this morning.
"It appears one of those heavy showers and thunderstorms near Waikanae spawned a small tornado," he said.
"They are fairly uncommon in New Zealand. Quite often they go across rural areas, now and then across urban areas."
Gullery said it was "pretty hard" to anticipate where tornadoes would occur.
"If you see a thunderstorm approaching and it's threatening, just try to stay indoors if you can.
"Most New Zealand tornadoes are pretty small, cause minor damage. Every now and then there on that's more significant and can cause damage to property."
Resident Heather Holme said she saw the tornado pick up her patio furniture and "form a barricade across my sliding doors".
"It moved fast but it made a lot of damage in its little trail."
She said her neighbour's roof had a big hole in it, and other roofs in the area had also sustained damge.
"I've got two dogs and they were getting worried and then I suddenly realised that maybe I need to get away from sliding doors."
She and the dogs retreated to the centre of the house.
"I have never experienced anything like that," she said.
Straight after the tornado blew through, she and the other residents of the street came outside to check everyone was okay. The fire brigade arrived quickly and everything that was supposed to happen following a disaster worked perfectly, she said.
Another resident who did not want to be named said he was chopping up branches in his garage when he saw it.
"It just ripped through and just bowled a fence and then it's knocked off our our neighbour's roofs.
"It just came around the side of the house and in front of the garage in a swirling motion, just lifting roofing tiles and furniture up in the air and away they go."
His ratings have probably improved since the CCO reforms, says the mayor.