A woman and her family have been left shaken after a tornado sent debris flying and nearly pulled her outside her Nelson home.
Carly Boyd, 48, said she was standing at the back door of her home, watching heavy rain pummel down, when she noticed “leaves from the backyard lift up and run a wide circle in the air”.
“I thought to myself, ‘Oh it’s a little wirly wirly’, but then the wind just increased rapidly strong
“All iron started lifting from [the] bird aviaries, dog kennel and firewood.
“Then everything in the yard lifted up and started flying in the air.”
In a post to social media, Boyd described her “whole house shaking” and being “sucked outside” as the pressure built from the tornado.
Boyd said the force of the wind began dragging her out through the doorway as it intensified and her ears popped.
“I turned and had to push really hard against the pressure to get back into the house.
“Then I braced myself in the doorway and had to push really hard on the door to be able to get it closed from all the pressure.”
She then rushed to check on her daughters. One recalled she was “watching things fly past the window in the air”.
Boyd said her home escaped damage, but a nearby parked car suffered a broken small window and scratches after being struck by some of the iron that was hurled through the air.
It comes as the South Island’s West Coast has been battered with heavy rain and flooding, leaving homes inundated with water.
Fire and Emergency said crews have been responding to flooding and weather-related callouts since 3.30am.
Many homes in Greymouth, Runanga and Brunner had flooded, with crews expecting more callouts across the Grey district as daylight broke.
State Highway 7 between Greymouth and Stillwater has reopened after being closed earlier this morning because of the flooding.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi urged people to continue to travel with extra care in the area as hazards might remain.
Heavy rain was predicted for the West Coast, before potential snow and ice affecting lower and central South Island roads over the next few days.