Tornado rips roofs off, tree falls on car
Emergency services rushed to the Coastal Highway after a tornado ripped through the area. Photo: Supplied.
A bout of severe weather has hit the region with a tornado ripping through areas of the Tasman District on Monday afternoon.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson says they are responding to calls for assistance following a tornado in Tasman about 1.20pm on Monday.
"There have been no reports of serious injuries following the weather event that hit at about 1.20pm, but roofs have been partially or fully lifted on many properties, while others have been impacted by fallen trees or powerlines being down."
A tree fell onto a car with a person inside in Māpua, but the person was able to get out of the car without requiring assistance and reported only minor abrasions, according to the spokesperson.
A resident of Appleby hills says the tornado hit his house.
"The old, heavy, steel tramp took off and went into then around our house. It lifted off the spa pool cover.
He described it as a "very wild" event.
One road user says they came across a tree blocking SH60 near Westdale Rd. They say people worked quickly to clear part of the tree to allow one lane of traffic to flow.
The Coastal Highway is open but is under stop/go management and subject to a 30kmh soeed limit.
Network Tasman say there are several areas without power after a storm passed through the area.
"Line crews are working on the faults and power will be restored as soon as the lines can be repaired," a spokesperson says.
Estimated power restoration times are as follows:
Gardener Valley Rd, Old House Road area: 11pm Monday.
Dominion, George-Harvey, Old Coach Road areas: 1am Tuesday.
Redwood Valley, Maisey Road: 10.30pm Monday.
These times are estimates only and power will come back on without warning. Please treat all power lines as live.
Metservice issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for a line of active thunderstorms moving across Nelson Tasman and northern/western and Marlborough with heavy rain and possibly large hail or a small tornado.
The watch is valid to 3:30pm Monday.
If you experienced the severe weather event, contact [email protected]