A tornado has been reported to have hurled through the New Plymouth-Strandon area, say Taranaki Civil Defence.
It said a localised tornado hit about an hour ago.
Civil Defence Emergency Management group controller Craig Campbell-Smart says the twister came as a surprise as there was no forecast by MetService of adverse weather conditions or weather warnings in place.
He says they were lucky this tornado was "just minor stuff" saying it is still pretty scary.
Mr Campbell-Smart described the tornado as "quite noisy, almost like a shaking of an earthquake."
A Police spokesperson says they received notification about reports of a tornado in Waiwaka Terrance, Strandon at 7:45pm .
The Fire Service says they've only had three calls in the area about minor property damage involving damage to roofs and a blown out window
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