Tornadoes rip roofs off houses, injure 1 in New Zealand's North Island
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Tornadoes are relatively rare in New Zealand.
PHOTO: GERRIEGREYLING/TWITTER
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WELLINGTON – Tornadoes continued to plague New Zealand, with one hitting north of the country’s capital city of Wellington early on Tuesday, lifting roofs off houses and leaving one person injured, and a second tornado touching down further north.
Wellington Fire and Emergency said in a statement that at least four houses were damaged, with roofs blown off and at least one house was lifted off its piles.
New Zealand media organisation the New Zealand Herald reported that a teenager is in hospital after the building he was sleeping in was destroyed.
Fire and Emergency also confirmed that a second small tornado hit Taranaki, which is on the west coast of the country’s North Island, earlier on Tuesday with more houses damaged.
The tornadoes follow two days of wild weather in New Zealand. About 10 houses in New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland are currently uninhabitable after a tornado hit on Sunday. Tornadoes also caused damage in the northern part of the South Island on Monday.
The country’s weather forecaster, Metservice, warned of severe weather, including tornadoes, in parts of the North Island later on Tuesday.
Tornadoes are relatively rare in New Zealand. REUTERS
