Source: Radio New Zealand
File image. Supplied / David Bodescu
High winds downed trees and tore off at least two roofs across the Far North overnight.
Kaitāia fire chief Craig Rogers said his brigade responded just after midnight when a home on Doel Road, near Awanui, had its roof ripped off.
Further east, the Mangōnui Fire Brigade was called out around 12.50am when a house in Taipā had its roof blown off.
Rogers said a few stands of trees were brought down in the area around Awanui and State Highway 10 but there were no reported injuries.
He said it was not clear if a tornado was responsible, as locals were saying, but the wind was extremely strong for about an hour and accompanied by a severe thunderstorm.
Several trees were also blown down in Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, including one that had fallen across a footpath on Kerikeri Road, near the Heritage Bypass.
On Monday morning, fire and police were called to Wendywood Lane where redwood branches were partly blocking the road.
Kerikeri deputy fire chief Andy Hamberger said firefighters left the scene in the hands of the council once it was clear no one was in danger.
Residents said the branches came down around 3am.
Hamberger said the storm left a large amount of branches and other debris in the area.
Six homes on Wendywood Lane was evacuated during Cyclone Vaianu amid fears the century-old redwoods could topple onto nearby houses.
The Far North District Council removed one stand of redwoods at nearby Hawkings Crescent earlier this year.
The Wendywood Lane redwoods are also slated for removal but no date has been set as yet.
The storm knocked out power to more than 4000 homes and businesses in the wider Doubtless Bay area just after midnight, but the supply was restored overnight.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
