'I've never woken up so disorientated in my life': Community helps tornado victims

RNZ News

5 hours ago

The car was whipped around by the tornado
Photo:
RNZ / Emma Andrews
Clean up efforts are underway after a tornado tore through the Taranaki town of Waitara overnight.
There was a bit of confusion when Susan Duncan was woken up by her dog barking on Friday night, she thought someone was tampering with her daughters car which was parked outside of her house on Aratapu Street.
"I heard the wind and I heard the wheelie bins and stuff, and it's sort of a normal thing that happens, but my dog just wouldn't shut up so I thought I better get up," Duncan said.
She looked outside and saw her trees beaten and then she saw the car and thought "what the hell?"
Waitara Aratapu St resident Susan Duncan said her Ford Focus was picked up and tossed around in the wind, after reports a tornado ripped through the area just after midnight, on Saturday 28 June, 2025.
Photo:
RNZ/ Robin Martin
There was already a dent on the car, but the car had been swung by the tornado leaving skids on the grass and its windows had smashed.
"I'm so shocked that all this has happened but my house is still standing. I'm so grateful and lucky that it wasn't in the middle of the day - imagine iron flying at you."
Her daughter Jade spoke to RNZ while on a video call with her mum. Jade works as a baker in Wellington and was saving money to fix the minor dent on her car.
"To see it absolutely destroyed sucks," Jade said.
"I'm trying to move to Melbourne so I was going to fix the car and sell it, so I had that money to get to Melbourne."
It was part of her plan because her fiancé is over there waiting for her.
The car was whipped around by the tornado
Photo:
RNZ / Emma Andrews
The car is worth $5000 and the insurance was put on hold, Duncan said, now the car will "go to the wreckers".
"We didn't want to waste the money while it's not being used right? Nothing's going to happen to it," Duncan thought before the tornado struck.
People have rallied around those who have been affected by the tornado, continuously bringing supplies and pumpkin soup.
Waitara High School principal Daryl Warburton jumped into the school van, hitched up the trailer, and headed to his friends house on Aratapu Street.
He was there to pick up the debris and locate items that were scooped up during the weather event.
The affected houses on Aratapu Street are next to farm land where there are normally horses - the residence heard from the owner that the horses are safe.
A roof has been patched up from the weather event on Aratapu Street
Photo:
RNZ / Emma Andrews
Warburton had driven to the house on the farm and collected outdoor furniture that had flown approximately 250 metres.
He said the flying items had sliced through wired fencing at the farm house.
Meteorologist Kgolofello Dube said the atmospheric conditions at the time were "favourable" to a tornado forming, and given the damage, it was likely. It is not yet confirmed that there was one.
Firefighters were called to several homes shortly after midnight after strong winds
blew out a sunroom on Elliott Street
.
Fire and Emergency NZ said there were no injuries, but at least 11 houses on the main street of Waitara alone suffered damage.
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