Mangawhai tornado: Community rallies to aid devastated homeowners
Strangers have turned up at the doors of devastated homes to offer a helping hand following the Mangawhai tornado.
Stories of the community banding together have surfaced in the wake of the disaster, which left two people badly injured and some homes destroyed.
Piles of twisted metal, broken timber, roofing, furniture and ripped trampolines lined Old Waipu Rd, Long View Dr, Moir St and Leslie St on Tuesday.
Nine homes have been yellow-stickered and access restricted, and another 26 damaged homes white-stickered meaning they can be used.
Power had been restored to most of Mangawhai by today.
Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said the biggest task now was the clean-up from the tornado which had torn homes apart within 15 seconds.
What struck Jepson was the “mind-blowing” effort from the community.
“We’ve been inundated with offers of help.
“A lot of that won’t be recompensed, it’s just coming out of the goodness of their hearts,” he said.
One example was at the badly damaged home of Joyce Chappell on Old Waipu Rd where 30 to 40 strangers came to help following the tornado.
“I just thought that was so fantastic,” Chappell’s son Marcus said.
Glass, tiles and more had littered the driveway but were gone by Tuesday.
Joyce’s garage door was bent and twisted, and the front door had been completely blown out - likely when the conservatory was mangled and an outdoor table smashed into the back glass door.
“It was like the noise of a jet plane coming into your house. It lasted no longer than a minute and then it was silence - just eerie silence,” Chappell said.
Her roof was ripped off and later covered by temporary tarpaulins thanks to community members.
Neighbour Gary Smith’s home was also badly damaged.
His roof was also torn off. His garage door ripped out and folded in two, and a sheet of plywood went through the window into a bedroom.
“The room looks like it’s been shot with a shotgun. There’s glass embedded in the wall - the whole room is toast.”
Smith said he was amazed at the offers of help.
“Mangawhai has always amazed us. It’s a community that cares.”
Local butcher Dan Klink said the roof of his shop had been partially pulled off.
As he surveyed the damage, a customer passed Klink and brought him a ladder to help.
The rest of the day he and his wife spent making sandwiches to give to workers.
Klink said the couple were some of the lucky ones.
“My friend’s got a sign writing business on Old Waipu Rd and that was like a blender had been through it.”
Residents Filip and Jess, who did not want their surnames used, were also lucky to get away uninjured when the tornado ripped through their neighbour’s home, sending debris flying in their direction.
They were left with around $50,000 to $100,000 worth of damagage.
“... The window smashed and we just grabbed the kids and ran into the garage,” Filip said.
“We only had a second to run into the pitch black,” Jess said.
Filip looked outside soon after to find most of his neighbours doing the same.
The couple could hear the sound of a woman screaming a few streets away but saw people were already helping.
Filip said the damage on their street was as if a bomb had exploded.
Jess was amazed by the “phenomenal” community spirit shown during the clean up.
“ ... that’s been part of the healing process - everyone just shares that collective experience.”
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.