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One person has died after a tornado hit the New Zealand city of Auckland. Photograph: Lynn Grieveson/Getty Images
One person has died after a tornado hit the New Zealand city of Auckland. Photograph: Lynn Grieveson/Getty Images

One person killed after suspected tornado hits Auckland

This article is more than 2 years old

The storm struck the suburb of Papatoetoe, causing extensive damage to homes

One person has died and two people have been injured after a suspected tornado hit a shipping container site in the New Zealand city of Auckland on Saturday morning.

Fire crews were also attending about 100 calls after the tornado ripped through the suburb of Papatoetoe, bringing down trees, tearing off roofs and smashing windows, Stuff reported.

“I was sat in my front room and suddenly the weather got way worse and things started flying everywhere” said local resident Ryan Lein said, adding he could hear loud cracks and bangs coming from the roof, before tiles started falling into his home, leaving tiles in the kitchen and bedroom.

“We were lucky that our six-month-year-old baby woke earlier than normal this morning, as giant shards of glass and tiles fell into the cot.”

Auckland’s port authorities said in a statement its South Auckland freight hub was hit by an apparent tornado just after 8.30am on Saturday. “One person working on site was killed and two people were injured and have been taken to hospital.”

Tornado damage in Papatoetoe pic.twitter.com/Ok9UVBIPBB

— Arun Gaddipati (@acgaddipati) June 18, 2021

It said those affected were not Ports of Auckland staff or staff from the Ports of Auckland subsidiary Conlinxx, which operates the freight hub.

“The tornado caused significant damage to the site and dislodged multiple containers,” the statement continued. “We are shocked by this freak event and our thoughts are with the people affected.”

Puhinui Rd Papatoetoe 🌪 pic.twitter.com/tNpXqBuCof

— bobmccoskrienz (@bobmccoskrienz) June 18, 2021

In a tweet, the weather forecaster Met Service said: “Damage in parts of Auckland this morning was likely caused by a tornado. Please take care around any fallen powerlines and listen to local authorities and emergency services.”

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