One dead as tornado hits Auckland

One person is believed to have died as a tornado ripped through New Zealand’s largest city.

Television footage showed the pillar of wild weather throwing up debris as it swept through part of Auckland today.

Police inspector Barry Smalley said there were unconfirmed reports that one person had been killed and that others had been injured by the tornado.

The storm cut across the Auckland suburb of Albany at mid-afternoon, police said.

Radio New Zealand reported witnesses describing cars being overturned and roofing material being ripped off buildings as the tornado passed through. The roof of the Mega Centre shopping mall in Albany collapsed, the report said.

Tornados are not uncommon in New Zealand, particularly on the country’s North Island where Auckland lies, and the city generally gets one or two tornadoes a year, according to New Zealand’s Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.