'Mini tornado' strikes

A large tree split and crashed down on Eves Real Estate on Amohia St. PHOTO/BEN FRASER

Fallen signs, split trees and scattered debris were left in the wake of what has been called a "mini tornado" by Rotorua residents.

Severe wind and rain started pounding Rotorua and the surrounding area around midday yesterday and continued for a few hours.

Emergency services were kept busy throughout the afternoon, mainly with callouts to roads blocked with debris.
Police and fire services said a callout to a crushed bach and garage in Rotoiti was the worst damage they saw.

A Rotoma fire brigade volunteer said they spent just over an hour at the address, between State Highway 30 and Te Urumahue Rd, helping clean up the debris.

"It was a big old tree which split and came crashing down on the house and garage. We were mainly there to help clean up the mess and patch up the broken windows.
"It was definitely the worst damage we saw from the weather out here, hopefully that's the last of it."

Rotorua police Senior Sergeant Harry Harvey said the Rotoiti bach was the only report of serious weather-related damage received by late afternoon.
"The occupants were home at the time but were unharmed. In a 40-minute timeframe, we received about 15 calls relating to the severe weather.

"Many people are saying it was a mini tornado passing through the town. Most of the calls we received were in relation to fallen debris on the road."

However, Philip Duncan from WeatherWatch.com said it was likely a squall had gone through Rotorua, not a tornado.

"Unless someone has seen a funnel, it was more likely a squall, a wall of straight line wind. But it can be very similar to a tornado in the damage it causes," he said.

"[Rotorua] is particularly vulnerable to these winds in the westerly direction, they really climb down the side of the Kaimai and Mamaku ranges and pick up speed, add that to the showers coming through and it's a bit of a double whammy."

Meanwhile, two large signs, one on top of the parking building on Pukuatua St and one above the LJ Hooker office on Eruera St, came down due to the winds.

At the same time, a large tree around the corner on Amohia St split and crashed down on to the verandah of Eves Real Estate.
Eves property manager Denise Bidois said when the tree fell there was a "hell of a bang".

"It was like this big gust of wind, a mini tornado almost, just ripped through the street. First the LJ Hooker sign fell down and there was a big bang from that, then minutes later the tree out the front of our office split and crashed down onto the verandah."

Ms Bidois said she and a colleague were standing outside at the time.

"We were right there when it happened. The Castlecorp men were on the scene almost instantly ushering us back inside.

"It's not the first time this has happened, the tree snapped a few months ago so it really didn't have a chance when the wind started blowing today."
Local resident Lisa Rimmer said she came home from the supermarket to find rubbish and her patio furniture strewn across her lawn.

"It really looked like a tornado had gone through my backyard. The patio furniture was spread across the lawn, our wheelie bin, which was almost full, had tipped over and one side of our garden shed had fallen in."

Image 1 of 15: PHOTO DANA KINITA

In Hamurana on State Highway 36 tree branches caused power lines to hang low over the road.

Tree branches have caused power lines on State Highway 36 to hang low over the road.
One line was closed for a short with, with a Unison worker having to raise the power lines with a pole to allow trucks to pass.

In the Eastern Bay, a large tree fell down blocking one lane on State Highway 30 between Whakatane and Awakeri, near Te Rahu Rd.

Unison customer care manager Danny Gough said there had been pockets of power outages but "nothing too significant or widespread".

"Workers have been battling the storm for most of the day going from one job to the other but any outages have been in small pockets and we've worked to get those areas back on line as quickly as possible.

"It's vital if residents do come across any fallen lines, to treat them as live and stay clear for their own safety."

MetService said the weather was expected to become fine today. A similar forecast is in place for Whakatane. A severe weather warning was issued earlier this week for the Bay of Plenty.