Source: Radio New Zealand
Maungatapu Marae in Tauranga’s Welcome Bay was impacted by the tornado on Sunday. Google Maps/Screenshot
A Tauranga councillor says a tornado which tore through the Welcome Bay neighbourhood in the early hours of the morning came without warning.
Lines company PowerCo reported more than 70 properties losing power in the suburb when one or more small tornadoes hit at about 1:30am on Sunday.
Ward Councillor Hautapu Baker visited Maungatapu Marae today where nearly 60 people staying overnight awoke to smashing windows and the roof being lifted off the marae’s toilet block.
By the time he’d arrived at the marae much of the clean up was already underway.
Four families from the area had been moved to temporary accommodation in the wake of the sudden windstorm, he said, and he was buoyed by the immediate response and support offered to affected residents.
“With [severe weather] events feeling like they’re becoming more and more frequent our people are becoming accustomed to mobilise. And that’s just really cool and really empowering to see.
“It makes the job for first responders, for councils and others who play a part during an emergency to do their role a lot more efficiently and quicker. It’s the heart of a community that comes out,” Hautapu said.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
