Power is out to 1712 homes around Moturoa in New Plymouth, according to Powerco.

Shaun Hall, who caught a video of the Tornedo in New Plymouth, said he was driving home from work when he turned a corner and all the power went out.

"I was like 'oh, that is weird' and I couldn't see anything because it went pitch black.

"As I pulled over I noticed sheets of iron flying through the sky and I clicked straight away what it was.

"I quickly grabbed my phone out and took a quick video."

Hall said he saw about five or six roofs get ripped off nearby houses.

"It probably lasted all of about 20 seconds before it headed up the road," he said.

"I wasn't too keen on following, not when the iron was coming over the bonnet of my ute."

Hall said he was excited to see the tornado "because I have never seen anything like that before".

"But when I saw the iron coming off the houses it kind of hit home that people's homes were actually being destroyed.

"I had the dog with me and he was starting to get restless too so I thought maybe it is a bit worse than I think."

Police and Fire and Emergency NZ are in attendance.

The power went our at 5.30pm and Powerco was estimating it would be restored at 10.30pm.

Further north, several houses in Ohope were also damaged after a tornado struck around 5.30pm.

A police spokeswoman said they received calls about a tornado forming and damaging houses and roofs on Harbour Rd, Ohope, near Whakatane.

"It doesn't appear there are any injuries but emergency services are responding to reports of a tornado blowing off some roofs and damaging some houses", she said.

General manager of the Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park, Mark Inman, told the Herald the park took "considerable damage" but everyone was safe and sound.

Inman said the tornado formed over the ocean and swept over the park earlier this evening.

They were still trying to assess the full extent of the damage caused but would have to wait until tomorrow morning, Inman said.

MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said an active line of thunderstorms went through the city bringing an associated tornado.

"That is just gradually easing at the moment and slowly moving to the east," he said.

"We are not expecting it to get any worse. There is still a risk of small tornados for the next little while in the broader area, but the line of thunderstroms that would have produced this one has moved away from the city now."

Adams said it was hard to predict where a tornado will strike.