The New Zealand town of Mangawhai was today cleaning up after a tornado damaged homes, knocked over power poles and sent debris flying at the weekend.

Kaipara District Council said a building team supported by inspectors from Auckland had assessed more than 90 damaged properties. Some 35 stickers have been issued – 26 white and nine yellow. 

Stickers are issued after a rapid building assessment as an immediate precautionary measure, with a yellow sticker restricting access to sites that sustain moderate damage and white indicating lesser impacts.

“Since Sunday, there has been a massive effort to get the place cleaned up, and there is a huge amount of debris piled up all around areas worst hit,” Mayor Craig Jepson said. “Council staff and contractors are prioritising hazardous materials from the most impacted areas – that’s items like building debris, roofing iron and other materials. Green waste already out on berms will be collected later.”

Cr Jepson has encouraged people to talk to their insurance providers in the first instance as some policies cover disposal of tornado-related waste. 

A low-pressure system moving across Northland on Sunday brought thunderstorms, lightning and strong wind, along with the wild conditions in Mangawhai.  

“After reviewing on-the-ground observations and other evidence, it looks like it was a tornado,” MetService meteorologist Surprise Mhlongo told Radio New Zealand.

The storm struck the town in the middle of the night, lifting roofs, snapping trees and knocking out power. Local media reported two people were taken to hospital.