Insurance companies are readying themselves for a deluge as people take the first steps towards fixing damaged roofs and buildings in the wake of a ferocious storm that pummelled the country on the weekend.
Wild weather brought down trees, damaged houses and left thousands without power in Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Coromandel on Saturday.
Insurance Council spokeswoman Sarah Knox said they were connecting with insurers to see whether the storm would be classified as an "extreme weather event".
It would still take about six weeks to know the cost of the damage, she said.
"We're expecting claims to be coming through but it's just not known yet the significance of it," she said.
"It's too early to tell what the costs will be."
About 20 homes in Auckland had their roofs damaged by winds or falling trees - including Michelle McKenzie's Avondale home.
The 26-year-old hid inside a cupboard with her 3-year-old son Christopher as the storm brought down a tree, which speared the roof and came to rest outside the cupboard.
"[The trees] make big noises when there's wind but this was just a bit worse.
"This time it just felt not what it's supposed to feel like. It was like a rumbling. So we jumped in the cupboard," she said.
Tauranga business Eastern HiFi was also struck by a tree, creating a hole in the ceiling, during a mini-tornado in the area.
Employees described a "white wall of wind" surrounding the store with strong gusts blowing open the building's front and back exits.
But employee Patrick Smith said the business was open as usual on Monday.
"It's not a major, we can still really operate perfectly fine. The fire department patched up the roof, they just put a bit of plastic over so water doesn't get through," he said.
He was not sure whether it was up to the business or the building owner to repair the damage.
Power was cut to thousands of homes during the storm, but most houses were back on the grid by Sunday morning. There have been no lingering power outages for homes across the country.
The 6000 Bay of Plenty and Coromandel customers who lost power on Saturday were largely restored on Sunday, with isolated outages repaired by Sunday night.
About 1500 Auckland homes and businesses, largely around Hillcrest on the North Shore, lost electricity during the weather bomb on Saturday and another 100 Vector customers in Waiwera were cut off on Sunday morning.
Another 1500 houses throughout Northland were without power during the peak of the storm on Saturday night, Top Energy network planning manager Ross Bridson said.
