Heather Lilly was at home this afternoon when "stuff went flying everywhere".
Her Ōwhata property had been struck by lightning.
"I saw the flash and the bang was just indescribable.
"Stuff went flying everywhere, I don't know if I was hit. I quickly got the cell phone and rang my husband and then I rang my daughter.
"It seemed to come from nowhere," Lilly said.
The lightning strike made a hole in the concrete, damaged a tree, destroyed pots and blew dirt and grass up under the house.
Neighbour Debbie McLeod said she was at the back of her house.
"I heard lots of thunder and there was this huge big bang and I thought 'Jesus'," she said.
The fire service was called to the scene just before 2pm.
A MetService spokesman confirmed there were 78 lightning strikes in the Rotorua area between 12pm and 2pm.
He said between the hours of 1pm and 2pm 18.2mm of rain was measured at the airport.
'Monster', was shouted in court as a 25-year-old woman appeared in relation to his death.