'It was horrific': Scary scenes as rare cyclone appears in Christchurch
A Christchurch resident has filmed a rare meso-cyclone bearing down on residents in New Zealand.
The vision, obtained by TVNZ, shows the meso-cyclone throwing debris into the air in Christchurch’s suburb of Sydenham on Monday.
Incredibly, it’s filmed from beneath the vortex.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson told The New Zealand Herald that some residents had reported roofs being torn off and air conditioning units falling from buildings.
Alison Kendall, who works at a local furniture store, told the publication the force of the wind was so strong it moved a fruit and vegetable truck 20 metres into a fence.
"It was horrific. I don't know how much damage it's doing as it goes around the area," she told the NZ Herald.
Builder Ben Nolan told Stuff.co.nz that sheets of iron and half a tree were "swirling in the air".
"Then the next thing you know the tornado comes around a million miles of knots and the roofs were coming off all the buildings,” he recalled.
"Pink batts, trees, bits of everything in the air. It was quite silent, then it started getting noisier and noisier.”
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Two people were also hospitalised with minor injuries.
Dark skies in Chch as this severe thunderstorm approaches. Full details https://t.co/HZ2TSCNiGZ ^AJ pic.twitter.com/dLdc82Jok6
— MetService (@MetService) November 18, 2019
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