After a tornado hit Levin, the government will put $100,000 into a mayoral relief fund to help with the recovery.
Heavy winds hit Levin in Horowhenua damaging buildings, bringing down trees and power lines and wrecking vegetable crops on 20 May 2022. Photo: Supplied / Horowhenua District Council
State Highway 1 was closed for a time, roofing was ripped off and trees, powerlines and vegetable crops were damaged by after a small tornado was reported to have swept through the Horowhenua town this morning.
It was accompanied by thunderstorms and wind gusting up to 140km/h, and was thought to have damaged 30 to 50 homes.
In a statement this afternoon, Emergency Management Minister Kiri Allan confirmed the government would put $100,000 into a mayoral relief fund.
She said such funds had been used in the past to help with clean-up and recovery efforts such as clearing debris, cleaning septic tanks, filling water tanks and re-establishing damaged boundary fences.
A warehouse in Levin with a damaged roof. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
"I know that this has caused considerable damage and been extremely disruptive to the Levin community. While it's too early to know the full cost of the damage, this initial contribution will help ensure there is minimal delay in supporting those who need it," she said.
She said other support may be available from the ministries of Social Development and Primary Industries.
Allan thanked those who had moved quickly to respond to the event, and urged those in the region to continue to follow instructions and advice from the district council and civil defence.
"Stay safe, don't take any chances."
Horowhenua District Mayor Bernie Wanden told Checkpoint he had seen a lot of devastation through Levin after the storm there this morning.
"We've got at least 10 homes that are uninhabitable tonight. And obviously we're finding alternative accommodation for them. Plus, there's about 30 more that have sustained some significant damage, but we believe that they are still okay to be lived in at the moment," he said.
He said damage was concentrated to a particular area in the west of the town.
The council has matched the government's funding for the clean up and restoration he said, giving them a current total of $200,000.
"We've had enough rain over just last weekend, which caused a number of slips... as long as we don't get too much more rain over the weekend we should be okay. Our water treatment plants and other things, other infrastructure have struggled a little bit with the amount of rain that we've had over the last week," Wanden said.
He said the storm was unexpected. "A very random occurrence for our town. We never usually experienced anything like this so and it's come completely out of the blue."
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
