Wind rips roofs off buildings in South Auckland

Wind ripped the roofs off several buildings in the Auckland suburb of Penrose today.

The wind struck without warning amid heavy rain about 8am and disappeared almost as fast.

Seven fire appliances were turned out to six different locations to rig tarpaulins over roofless buildings and pump out the basements.

New Zealand Fire Service shift manager in Auckland Steve Smith said firefighters had to wade through knee high puddles but 30 minutes later most of the water had gone and the sun was out.

He said several buildings lost their roofs and the wind caused damage to the wall of another building.

"The first call we got was a guy ringing up and screaming a mini tornado had just ripped his roof off but no one else described it as a mini tornado. They just said it was severe winds and rain and now it has gone."

"It was all finished within half an hour -- all gone," Mr Smith said.

- NZPA