Fire and Emergency received more than 50 calls for help as the capital was battered by torrents of rain, large hail, gale-force winds and surface flooding yesterday.

Between 3pm and 9pm Tuesday FENZ received 51 weather-related calls for assistance, with the majority of them coming from Lower Hutt.

A spokesperson said the calls were mainly about roofs lifting in the wind, broken windows/glass, powerlines down and trees blocking roads.

The storm caused extensive damage in Lower Hutt. Photo / Georgina Campbell

MetService issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the wider Wellington region just before 3pm yesterday, with the wild weather hitting within minutes. It lashed the region ferociously through the afternoon before moving further north.

At 9pm last night the severe thunderstorms which affected Gisborne and northern Hawke’s Bay throughout the evening began to weaken and move offshore, but “a few thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail” were still expected into the night, MetService said.

A severe wind watch was also issued for Hawke’s Bay, south of Hastings and the Tararua District which remains in effect until 8am this morning. MetService warned westerly winds may approach severe gale in exposed places.

The watches followed buckets of rain, large hail, surface flooding and a tornado battering Wellington yesterday afternoon, causing widespread damage.

A property destroyed in Lower Hutt by a severe thunderstorm that hit the region yesterday. Photo / Angus Dreaver 

Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry said a “tornado” has caused a significant amount of damage, particularly to buildings with roofs lifted and debris scattered around the city.

• 'Extensive damage': Severe storm hits Wellington, multiple injuries, 200 without power

“We are working with Fenz and police in the immediate response which will continue over the next few hours,” Barry said yesterday.

Lower Hutt residents describe ‘chaotic’ storm, tornado 

Lower Hutt residents yesterday described the situation as chaotic with trees down across roads and scores of shop windows smashed. 

Many reported a tornado ripping through buildings. MetService meteorologist John Law told the Herald yesterday a tornado was “certainly not out of the question, but hard to confirm”. 

Law said winds had “packed quite a punch” with windspeeds at Wellington Airport hitting 98km/h, in Lower Hutt it reached 96km/h and on Mt Kaukau gusts reached 128km/h. 

“My car was lifting and my boy was screaming, it was just like your typical Hollywood blockbuster,” one Lower Hutt man said during the tornado. 

Police confirmed multiple roads were blocked in Hutt Central by downed trees, and there has been extensive damage to cars and homes across the region. 

Damage to a Lower Hutt New World as severe weather hits the lower North Island. Photo / Facebook / Paul Shivnan 

A worker at Queensgate in Lower Hutt said several police, fire and ambulance vehicles responded to the shopping centre. 

“I can’t see into the centre but a lot of that has been based around the exit point for Countdown, which is based in the mall,” they said. 

The worker said heavy gales blew glass out windows of some stores. 

They said seeing the weather escalate was “quite freaky” after conditions didn’t look that threatening yesterday morning. 

“All of a sudden it just hit. There were quite a few people who were very afraid because it was very noisy but we were all safe inside,” they said. 

The Salvation Army shop in Hutt Valley was damaged in the storm. Photo / Matt Thomason 

More than 2000 properties were left without power in the Wellington region for a few hours, lines companies Electra and Wellington Electricity announced. 

Two children among those injured 

Several people required medical attention yesterday, including two that needed to be hospitalised and a report by Hutt South MP Chris Bishop that two children have been injured. 

Wellington Free Ambulance said its staff responded to several weather-related incidents in the Lower Hutt region yesterday afternoon. 

The majority of patients were treated at the scene. 

 

 

 

Two patients were transported to Hutt Hospital by Wellington Free Ambulance, one in a serious condition and one in a moderate condition. 

Bishop took to Facebook yesterday evening, expressing his concern for two kids who had been injured in the tornado. 

“Really concerned to hear about the tornado in the Hutt today, and particularly worried about the two kids who have been injured - I hope they recover quickly,” he wrote. 

The hail storm that hit Johnsonville in Wellington. Photo / Marty Melville 

Bishop said it sounds like there will be a big cleanup job amid the aftermath of the weather event.  

“One of the best things about the Hutt is seeing people step up to help each other, and I know today’s storm will be another great example of that,” he wrote.  

Bishop later took to social media announcing the roof of his electorate office had collapsed in the storms. The damage to his offices on Bloomfield Terrace, Hutt Central, occurred around 3pm yesterday.  

“There was a roof here this morning. #huttnado,” Bishop posed on X, formerly Twitter shortly after 8pm. 

Bishop again took to social media shortly before 10pm last night, revealing photos of the tornado’s aftermath. 

“Quite a bit of damage via #Huttnado. Luckily and thankfully it seems no loss of life,” he wrote. 

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.