Wind throws Wellington roof across suburb onto another house

RNZ News

2 days ago

A house in Newlands had its roof torn in strong winds.
Photo:
RNZ/Mark Papalii
Strong winds tore the roof off a house in Wellington as wild weather swept the country.
The house in the suburb of Newlands was left uninhabitable, and the residents of the Sunhaven Drive duplex had to be evacuated.
The Fire Service was at there overnight tying the roof down, but lot of it ended up on another street two blocks away.
A neighbour was woken by loud bangs about 2am on Thursday as the debris hit her house.
RNZ reporter Ruth Hill said the debris it was on top of the roof of another house which was miraculously undamaged. "It really flew some distance."
"There are bits of insulation blowing all over the road, and the roof looks like it's been peeled back," Hill said.
The house in Sunhaven Drive, Newlands, had had its roof blown over to a nearby property in Tamworth Crescent.
Photo:
RNZ/Mark Papalii
The damaged house on Sunhaven Drive had pieces of roofing timber sticking up into the air and a council building inspector was looking at the property.
"I can't see them being able to come home anytime soon though, they have no roof," Hill said.
While the wind was still strong she says it has stopped raining by about 7.30am.
The stormy weather overnight led to 58 callouts for the top of the North Island, mostly for flooding and fallen trees.
People in an area north of Turangi are being asked to prepare to self-evacuate due to fears the Tauranga-Taupō River will breach its banks.
Insulation on the roadside after the Newlands house had its roof ripped off in strong winds.
Photo:
RNZ/Mark Papalii
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