Two separate tornadoes have caused considerable damage to properties on either side of the North Island this evening.
New Plymouth was struck by a tornado around 5.30pm, uprooting trees and tearing iron roofing from houses.
Shaun Hall, who videoed the tornado in New Plymouth, said he was driving home from work when he turned a corner and all the power went out.
"I was like 'oh, that is weird' and I couldn't see anything because it went pitch black.
"As I pulled over I noticed sheets of iron flying through the sky and I clicked straightaway what it was. I quickly grabbed my phone and took a quick video."
Hall saw about five or six roofs get ripped off nearby houses.
"It probably lasted all of about 20 seconds before it headed up the road," he said.
"I wasn't too keen on following, not when the iron was coming over the bonnet of my ute."
Hall said he was excited to see the tornado "because I have never seen anything like that before".
"But when I saw the iron coming off the houses it kind of hit home that people's homes were actually being destroyed.
"I had the dog with me and he was starting to get restless too so I thought maybe it is a bit worse than I think."
New Plymouth local Odette Bastin had the roof of her home sucked up by the tornado which has caused significantly damaged.
"It's pretty f***ed. The whole roof's gone and all the internal ceilings are coming down and there's water all through the house.
"I freaked me out, I couldn't stop shaking for ages," she told Newstalk ZB.
Bastin, a home-based educator, was at the house with a care child, her son and his partner who was expected to give birth three days ago.
Civil defence has told her not to enter the house because it is not safe. She was told by a policeman they might be able to come by tomorrow and get some belongings.
State Highways 44 and 45 near New Plymouth were closed following the tornadoes with strong winds in the area at 6.10pm.
Both highways have since reopened but are operating under stop/go controls.
Police and Fire and Emergency NZ have set up a command centre at the intersection of Belt Rd and St Aubyn St.
Ohope building 'blown to pieces'
Further north, several houses in Ohope were also damaged after another tornado struck around 5.30pm.
A police spokeswoman said they received calls about a tornado forming and damaging houses and roofs on Harbour Rd, Ohope, near Whakatane.
"It doesn't appear there are any injuries but emergency services are responding to reports of a tornado blowing off some roofs and damaging some houses," she said.
The tornado caused roofs to be lifted from buildings and windows to smash. There are no reports of injuries in Ohope, said Fire communications manager Craig Dally.
Dally said about 20 firefighters from Ohope, Whakatane, Taneatua and Edgecumbe responded to help with the cleanup and assisted with tarpaulins and other tasks.
The damage was isolated to the Ohope area and it was possible the tornado either died down or headed out to sea, he said.
General manager of the Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park, Mark Inman, told the Herald they lost an entire building that was "blown it to pieces" by the tornado.
"It was in and out like a flash and, yeah, there was a bit noise and wind," Inman said.
He said the tornado formed over the ocean and swept over the park earlier this evening but no one was hurt.
They were still trying to assess the full extent of the damage caused, but would have to wait until tomorrow morning, Inman said.
