A Hamilton farm worker has expressed sorrow and relief after four cows died this morning from a single lightning strike during the thunderstorms that rocked the Auckland and Waikato regions.
"It was an unreal feeling thinking that could of easily been myself or the boss," James Miles told 1 NEWS.
Mr Miles said he and his boss were working the farm in the same area where the cows were struck at about 8.30 this morning, just minutes before the fatal bolt.
"We were milking the last row and had a little joke about better get the wife to pick him up to take him home 'cause we might get struck by lightning," he explained. "We had a little chuckle about that and we carried on our way, and the boss left on quad bike to go home.
"About five minutes later, I got a call saying to quickly turn the power off - we have had four cows struck by lightning."
Mr Miles turned on his camera as he arrived back at the location on a quad bike, narrating his shock.
"Lightning struck these poor girls," he later wrote while sharing the video with friends on Facebook. "F*** this weather. Stay safe, whanau. Love you all."
The Stanmore Bay home has lost power as large swaths of New Zealand remain under a thunderstorm watch today.
Auckland recorded hundreds of lightning strikes today as fierce thunderstorms lashed the region today.
With the thunderstorms came large rain dumps. Auckland broke a record for the most rain it has received during a single hour during the month of December.
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