Eketahuna residents are surveying the damage caused by two days of destructive winds, which ripped up trees, flipped caravans, and tore down sheds.
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Power is still out in the Tararua town and internet and cell phone reception is patchy.
Both Tararua and Wairarapa were hit by strong winds on Tuesday, and power remains out to about 2000 properties in the lower and central North Island after Thursday's severe storm.
A worker deals with a fallen tree near Eketahuna. Photo: MARK PAPALII / RNZ
Ceramicist Mathew Nisbet says they're used to wind in Eketahuna but likened the swirling and pressure in yesterday's gusts to a building tornado.
The strength of it tore down a wall of a more than 100-year-old shed, that he estimated was close to five metres high and six metres long.
He was away from the workshop when he got the call.
"Ok, that's today's distraction. How can you feel? It's enormous.
"The world's changed, so change with it."
A flipped caravan on State Highway 2 near Eketahuna. Photo: Mark Papalii / RNZ
The site where Crownlynn.Kiwi operates - creating pottery using the iconic Crown Lynn moulds - has multiple historic barns, which mostly withstood the wind, Nisbet says - but the flapping roofs and bits of wood caused a racket.
"This whole building was moving ... you do think about it coming down on you - and then that would be everything changing very quickly."
Down the road, the town's Four Square which is one of the few places that has a generator saw a steady stream of customers this morning.
Owner Tanmay Patel says the lack of power has completely shifted their priorities.
"All of a sudden the requirements changed and what we normally do has changed."
He said because power was still on after Tuesday's severe winds, they assumed they'd come through yesterday's gales unscathed.
"Most of the time we were inside but you can feel it and you can hear the noise too."
Patel says in his more than 14 years in Eketahuna, the weather yesterday was a first, but he has never had a power cut this long.
He said hot food has been in high demand this morning because few people can cook.
The town's Four Square store has been extra busy. Photo: MARK PAPALII / RNZ
Resident has long journey home
Walking through the doors shortly after 7am in search of hot water was Danielle Allen-Sutton.
She said she and her partner got stuck trying to return from Masterton yesterday.
"It usually takes halfway an hour, we tried all the back ways ... trees and powerlines were down everywhere. Even with a four-wheel drive you couldn't get back."
They waited four hours for SH2 to reopen.
Allen-Sutton said the gusts on the straights between Masterton and Eketahuna were severe, and appeared to have "flipped and jack-knifed a caravan".
Photo: Mark Papalii / RNZ
"Obviously, any high-sided vehicles weren't driving, trucks were pulled over - otherwise they were rolling.
"We got back last night to no power. We've heard that it might not be back on until Saturday.
"So it was camp cooking in the car port and in bed by 8pm."
She said she's never been in elements like it.
"Being out there and seeing the damage was pretty scary."
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