The New Zealand town of Levin has been lashed by a tornado, destroying powerlines and crops, and unearthing trees.<\/p>\n
A low pressure system passing to New Zealands south has brought a number of fronts packed with severe gale-force winds, thunderstorms and hail on Friday.<\/p>\n
In Cambridge, east of Hamilton, Newshub reports a woman needed rescuing after she was trapped and seriously injured by a falling tree.<\/p>\n
In Levin, around 100km north of Wellington, residents were left shaken and tallying the damage bill when a thunderstorm produced chaos around 6:30am NZST.<\/p>\n
Footage on social media shows fences knocked down and buildings and roofs damaged.<\/p>\n
Levin resident Tyson Sager told NZ Herald he jumped out of bed and looked out the window and I saw my mates car flying backwards down the road.<\/p>\n
It was a red station wagon and it was just flying down the road and the wind was blowing it like nothing.<\/p>\n
Deputy Mayor Jo Mason told Newshub the central town had suffered significant damage.<\/p>\n
There have been minor injures with glass flying.<\/p>\n
I didnt know it was a tornado ... its unbelievable, she added.<\/p>\n
Some of the towns main streets are flooded, while huge trees and power-lines lay strewn on others.<\/p>\n
Police have confirmed the formation of a tornado.<\/p>\n
With a heavy smell of gas in the air, police closed State Highway 1 to investigate and clear damage.<\/p>\n
We will have staff in Levin today providing community reassurance and assisting with any clean-up, a police spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Tornados are semi-common in New Zealand, with meteorological agency NIWA reporting 7-10 occur each year.<\/p>\n
In June 2021, an Auckland port worker was killed on the job when a tornado passed through the citys southern suburbs.<\/p>\n
Heavy hail landed in nearby Ohau, where farmer Jay Clarke said the damage looked like someone got a machine gun out and shot a machine gun at every single cabbage, silverbeet or lettuce in the paddock.<\/p>\n
Were looking at the worst hail damage in 44 years of growing in the district. Catastrophic would be the only word to describe it, he told Radio NZ.<\/p>\n
Theres nothing left of the crop.<\/p>\n
Further north on Friday, Aucklands Harbour Bridge has been closed due to heavy crosswinds topping 95km an hour.<\/p>\n
On South Island, fronts associated with the low pressure system have brought the first major snow of the season.<\/p>\n
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New Zealand battered by machine gun tornado - PerthNow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The New Zealand town of Levin has been lashed by a tornado, destroying powerlines and crops, and unearthing trees. A low pressure system passing to New Zealands south has brought a number of fronts packed with severe gale-force winds, thunderstorms and hail on Friday Continue reading