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Herald reporter Maggie McNaughton was in Oakura when the tornadoes hit. Here, she tells of a startling encounter with a twister at a property on the beachfront about 5.30pm.
'We were sitting looking out to sea and it suddenly started pouring down with unnaturally heavy rain - enough for us to go, "Oh, my God". Then the power went out as it got really, really windy.
'We were looking out and it just came in off the sea. A pohutukawa's whole top half was bending over and the water was blowing up from the sea - it was like mid-tide - and sand was swirling around.
'We kind of freaked out with the view of the sea coming in. You thought "tsunami", well, not really, but that comes to mind.
'It lasted for about two or three minutes and then there was thunder and lightning. I didn't make the connection to a tornado straight away, because when you're in it, it is just really strong wind. After, it went spookily calm, an eerie calm.
'We went out to the top of the street and checked things out and then waited for the power to come back on. When we drove into the main part of town the police stopped us and said we were better off inside.
'In Wairau Rd there is debris everywhere cluttering the footpath, one car with its windscreen smashed.
'A house about 150 metres from here up the hill on Messenger Rd had its whole second storey blown off. It's complete carnage, but no one was home.
'If anyone had been there ... The owner has apparently had to go and stay at a friend's house.
By 11.30pm the area was still without power. McNaughton says Oakura residents are in shock, and there is worried talk of more of the same, possibly this morning.
