Twister hits as winds buffet south
A small tornado ripped through a backyard as gusts hitting 115kmh blew away roofs and windows in the Central Otago town of Clyde.
Resident Colleen Kitto said her house felt like it was being hit by an earthquake as the twister hit yesterday.
‘‘The walls, windows and glassware rattled, then it spun into my yard lifting everything in sight.
‘‘It ripped up our garden shed and dumped it on our diesel tank,’’ she said. ‘‘I screamed for my kids to get down, and then it was gone.’’
It was about 9am when strong winds picked up and flung the family’s trampoline at the house and smashed windows.
Clyde resident Jo Smail said she was hysterical when bits of the eaves of her house started to break off in the winds.
She was outside trying to shift her garden furniture as the wind roared through.
‘‘The chairs were blowing all over the place. Do you go and rescue them or head inside? I managed to throw most stuff into the shed.’’
A lamp on the patio was smashed and then bits of the eaves started breaking off their 9-yearold house.
‘‘I was hysterical. I was on the phone to my husband. I could see wee bits breaking off and I thought the whole corner was going to come off.
‘‘It kept chipping away and a big piece fell off.’’
She felt sick and was crying, she said. ‘‘It was crazy but we’re OK here.’’
Clyde fire chief Richard Davidson said the brigade had to deal with ‘‘everything from buildings lifting off foundations, roofs lifting, fences down, trees down, caravans upturned, power lines down and fires.
‘‘It’s really been a bit busy’’.
He said the winds gusty north westerly winds were not unusual for this time of year, ‘‘but this is right up there with some of the worst we’ve ever had’’.
Davidson said there had been 17 calls in the Clyde township area by about 10.30am yesterday.
There had not been any injuries he was aware of.
Crews from Alexandra and Cromwell helped the Clyde brigade, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said.
‘‘It’s been five to six houses in Clyde. It’s isolated to Clyde,’’ he said.
Strong winds had been risking fire crews’ safety also.
He told people to contact emergency services if they were affected.
The Crown Range road between Wanaka and Queenstown was closed at both ends due to a slip at chain bay 5.
A Queenstown Lakes District Council press release said the slip was covering one lane and more material may come down.
Travellers were urged to use the alternative route on SH6.
Motorists were warned to take care in the Mackenzie District after strong winds blew a campervan off the road.
A New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) spokeswoman said the vehicle had crashed on State Highway 8, near Hayman Rd, between Tekapo and Twizel. Noone was injured in the crash.
Police had also urged drivers in Central Otago and South Canterbury to take care in the adverse weather conditions.
MetService had issued an updated severe weather warning, advising that severe gale-force north to northwesterly winds gusting 130kmh were expected in exposed parts of the Canterbury High Country. They were gusting 120kmh for Marlborough and Wellington yesterday.
Forecaster Cameron Coutts said gusts of about 102kmh started at 3am at Alexandra airport. The strongest were 115kmh.