Two tornadoes have hit the city of New Plymouth on New Zealand’s North Island.
The tornadoes ripped through the city in the middle of the night, tearing roofs off buildings, shattering windows and cutting power.
There have been no reports of injuries.
Resident Adrian Chivers says at first he thought it was an earthquake.
“I woke up with the sound of … like an express train coming around the house,” he said.
“At first I thought it was an earthquake.
“But then the heavy rain… I got out of bed to see what was happening – electricity off and all mayhem outside and debris all over my property and I found out that next door, Dave, his roof has been ripped off.”
Another local, Travis West, says one of the tornadoes also took the roof off his house.
“I woke up to the sound of what sounded like really heavy hail and then it just turned into this sound of like a freight train hitting our house and you could hear the nails ripping out,” he said.
“There was just panic really and we came outside to find that the roof had come off.”
Officials say there may have been another tornado in the nearby town of Bell Block, where there has been more damage to buildings.
