O¯ hope residents rally after tornado
To see a video go to nzherald.co.nz “You fight for the lions and they come and fight for you,” were the words used by O¯ hope Beach Top 10 Holiday Park manager Mark Inman regarding community support in the wake of Monday night’s tornado.
Inman lives at the park with his family and was picking up his son from basketball practice when the tornado hit.
“My wife sent me a photo of a water spout and, being the cheeky person I am, I told her to chase it,” Inman said.
The next video she sent was the chilling sight of the tornado veering down on their home and a sheet of timber heading straight toward the camera. The Inmans’ daughter can be heard telling her mum to come inside.
“I rushed back and when I got there it was bedlam.”
Inman was quick to praise emergency services, police, fire and ambulance, Civil Defence, insurance companies, local tradies, the power company but most of all the community.
“The O¯ hope community has been incredible. On Monday night we put up a post on social media asking anyone who wanted to lend a hand to come to the holiday park in the morning. We must have had about 50 people turn up and go door-todoor of the damaged properties and got things sorted.”
The O¯ hope Beach Top 10 Holiday Park opened its doors to the community last night. A camper who had his caravan and awning damaged took advantage of the offer as did a woman in her 90s, who had glass littering her home after the tornado. Whakata¯ ne District Council said the tornado struck at 5.45pm with no injuries reported.