Deadly tornado hits Auckland

Two killed and 14 injured in New Zealand’s largest city in the wake of tornado which cut a three-mile path across suburb A tornado has ripped across part of New Zealand’s largest city, upturning cars and sending debris slicing through the air. Civil defence officials put the death toll at two, with at least 14 injured. The swirling dark-grey column of air and cloud cut a three-mile (5km) path across the Auckland suburb of Albany at mid-afternoon on Tuesday, tearing off roofs, flattening trees and tossing vehicles around, police and witnesses said. “There were kids in a car which turned upside down and they had to get help,” said Hamish Blair, whose golf supplies store was in the hardest-hit area. “There’s probably six or seven seriously damaged cars, and I saw cars flying off the ground about 30m (100 feet) in the air.” “We’ve got our fingers crossed that injuries are limited and that there are no further fatalities,” Auckland’s mayor Len Brown told Radio New Zealand. The tornado first touched down in Albany and then passed through neighbouring Birkenhead. Most of the serious damage was in Albany, where a shopping mall, a large hardware store and a supermarket were hit. Radio New Zealand reported that the roof of the Mega Centre mall in Albany collapsed. Tornadoes are not uncommon in New Zealand, particularly on the country’s North Island, where Auckland lies. But they tend to be smaller than those seen in the US midwest. Auckland generally gets one or two tornadoes a year, according to New Zealand’s ministry of civil defence and emergency management. New Zealand has been hit by several natural disasters in recent months, including an earthquake on 22 February that devastated the South Island city of Christchurch and killed at least 169 people. New Zealand Natural disasters and extreme weather guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 2, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.