An Oturehua couple fled with their five children yesterday,
fearing for their lives as high winds shattered windows and
blew down massive pine trees around their home.
"It felt like the world was coming down around our ears. I've
never experienced anything like that before," Jean Milnes
said.
"Three or four mammoth old man pines were snapped in half and
others were uprooted. It looked like someone had dropped a
bomb on them. There were bits here, there and everywhere."
Some of the 125-year-old trees, about 60m high, fell within
metres of the family's home, ripping out the power lines, and
debris blown by the high winds broke all the windows down one
side of the house.
Ms Milnes and the children - ranging in age from 2 years old
to 10 - were inside at 9am as the wind gusts buffeted the
house, while Ms Milnes' partner, Mike Tudor, was working in
the yards near the house.
"I watched as a big pine fell down and then just ran home as
fast as I could as two more trees fell. The noise was
horrific and the gusts blew me over. I had to hold on to the
rails to stand upright," Mr Tudor said.
"I was met by five very upset children, as you could imagine,
and we put them in a room as far away from the end where the
trees were as we could; and then decided it was best to get
out, as it was pretty fierce out there."
A glassed-in porch shattered seconds after one of the
children left it. Broken glass from shattered windows covered
the floors of several rooms.
"Mike had to shift the power lines off the car so we could
drive it to get out and we left in a hurry, hoping none of
the trees down the driveway would fall as we drove along," Ms
Milnes said.
"We were petrified but when you have kids, you try and keep
it all together for them, so they don't get more upset, and
they were already terrified.
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