Tornado strikes New Zealand city of Auckland
It touched down at about 1500 (0300 GMT) in the city's Albany area and then moved south, felling trees and tearing roofs off houses.
"There were kids in a car which turned upside down and they had to get help," said eyewitness Hamish Blair, whose golf supplies store was in the hardest-hit area.
"I saw cars flying off the ground about 30m (100ft) in the air," he said.
Police in New Zealand said one man had died in the suburb of Albany. They said a number of roads have been closed due to damage and overturned cars, but are encouraging people to return home if possible and to make contact with their families.
New Zealand’s Weather Watch says the extent of the damage is still being assessed, but that a shopping mall in Albany bore the brunt of the storm. Winds were estimated to have hit 220km/hr.
Although tornadoes in New Zealand tend to be less severe than those which strike the US, tornadoes killed people in Albany in 1991 and 2004, the New Zealand Herald reports. The worst storm to strike the area was in August 1948, when three people were killed.
The country experiences around 20 tornado's every year.
Most are relatively small and fatalities are rare.
Source: New Zealand Herald /Sky News
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