Wild gust chucks carport like a toy

Ruby Kumar lost her carport when the big winds struck on Wednesday; the rubble is still there. Photo / Jason Dorday

Ruby Kumar knows exactly how much power is contained in a gust of wind. She was standing only metres from her carport when it was picked up and flung at her neighbour's house during this week's big blow.

"I was very scared - it was frightening actually. I thought it would come crashing down on me," the 26-year-old said.

Now all that's left of her carport is a pile of rubble.

The Otahuhu resident had just returned from the shops on Wednesday about 11am and was thankful she'd decided not to park her car in the carport that day because, as she stood in front of it, she noticed the wild weather was starting to move its roof.

"I was standing in front of the carport, it was really windy and it just lifted up off the ground half way."

The wind set the carport down on its poles again before another powerful gust finished off the structure.

"It ripped out of the ground and crashed into the neighbour's house. It took out the powerlines. It snapped and flew up and on to the neighbour's house where the carport landed."

She said the live wire damaged their car and landed in a pool of water and although the Fire Service allowed her neighbours back inside their home, they were warned not to use the water taps until the problem was resolved, because of the risk of electrical shock.

Kumar, who is renting the property, said some of the carport's poles had needed repairing anyway, but now she was waiting for the whole carport to be replaced.