Motueka business left to pick up the pieces after being hit by tornado and hail

December 27, 2020

Several Motueka businesses have been left battered after yesterday's hail storm, but for one store, a tornado contributed to a nightmare day.  

For Victoria Gardens Fruit and Vege owners Peter and Caroline, the twister was just another nail in the coffin after many of the business' glasshouses and vegetable patches were torn up by the storm. 

With strong winds lifting the panes from their glasshouses, the pair were forced to run for cover "as glass rained down" on top of them.

They found refuge in a nearby shipping container. 

While no one was hurt, shattered glass was scattered across several surrounding properties. 

"It only touched down for 30 seconds but the damage it did is going to be long lasting," the pair wrote on the store's Facebook page. 

Other less-secure patches like their 25m x 5m tunnel houses were completely ripped up, then showered in glass and covered in ice. 

Even the store's tomato crops inside the biggest glasshouse were covered in hail, after gaps were left by missing glass panes. 

Glass panes from the structure went flying, raining shattered glass on the people below.

A small group of friends and family have been tasked with the clean up today as the store looks at how they can rebuild from here. 

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