A tornado ripped off the roof of a house and damaged power lines and lightning strikes sparked fires as wild weather caused havoc in Canterbury.
The Fire Service said a tornado ripped off most of the roof of a house in Amberley, damaged the roof of another, and blew in the windows of the second property on Sunday night.
Several homes in Amberley, Canterbury were damaged by a tornado yesterday http://t.co/XIcb3tlVkD Photo / @HurunuiDC pic.twitter.com/kgY1ZczGnq
— nzherald (@nzherald) February 23, 2014
Amberley resident Donna Graham told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme both she and her husband were terrified as the twister began to emerge from hanging black clouds.
"I went outside to tell my husband I think one's forming, came back in, and it was a massive thing coming straight towards us."
"I realised it was coming straight towards our house, because our house was getting covered in flicked up leaves and bits of stuff so we got really panicky and ran into the washhouse and got down on the floor.
"My husband is a really calm person but I could see he was the same way and we just waited and I had my fingers in my ears, the noise was tremendous.
Donna Graham said the power was cut and the phone went out. She and her husband drove to friends and watched the tornado move over the hills taking the dust with it.
