A woman says her partner was seconds away from being killed when the limbs of a tree harpooned the rear of their motorhome during the tornado that ripped through Mangawhai yesterday.

About 50 homes and buildings were damaged – some extensively – and two people are in hospital with serious injuries after the winds tore through the popular beachside town, which was packed with holidaymakers over the Northland and Auckland Anniversary weekend.

One woman was asleep in her bed when she was thrown out of the second storey of her house, a neighbour to the property on ridge-top street Old Waipu Rd said.

“Apparently the tornado just came through and ripped them across and she ended up on the roof of their carport,” he said.

Dianne Hope-Ede and her partner Paul had a terrifying experience in their motorhome, which was parked at a property under some tall trees on Old Waipu Rd.

The lightning, wind and thunder woke Hope-Ede at 2am. Then followed a period when it all stopped, she said.

“Ooh, I thought, it was over, but if I had been knowledgeable about tornadoes I would have realised that was the eye of it, and the rain and wind whipped up again really, really aggressively.”

The tree limb that pierced the motorhome owned by Dianne Hope-Ede and partner Paul.

Dianne Hope-Ede described the branches as being like pick-up sticks.

Hope-Ede told her partner “this is not right” and the pair got out of bed and headed for the door when they felt the motorhome shaking like an earthquake and a terrible roar.

“When it stopped shaking we went out and could see limbs of the tree had harpooned the back end of the motorhome where we had been sleeping, like pick-up sticks skewered from the top of the roof into where it would have killed Paul on his side of the bed,” she said.

Another tree limb crashed through the side of the motorhome.

The outside of the motorhome was covered with fallen trees, including a large uprooted tree with a 50cm to 60cm diameter trunk, about 7m from the motorhome.

“If that had fallen in a different direction it would have killed us instantly. We were lucky, very lucky,” she said.

Aerial images reveal the extent of damage caused by the tornado in Mangawhai Village. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Hope-Ede said her partner is a panel beater and made some repairs to allow the couple to drive carefully home to Northcote on Auckland’s North Shore.

“I just hope I don’t dream about it tonight. I want to put it behind me ... it was absolutely terrifying,” she said.

Kaipara Civil Defence Emergency Management controller John Burt said the township is dealing with extensive damage as a result of the twister that touched down around 3am yesterday.

He said trees and power lines had been toppled in the storm, causing extensive damage in the Mangawhai village area.

He urged people to stay safe, stay home, and remain well away from contractors working to restore power and clear damage.

Daylight revealed the fury and destructive force of the early morning tornado, with a number of homes on Old Waipu Rd left gutted and exposed to the elements.

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said Mangawhai was “full” during the storm, with its permanent population of 6000 residents expanded to about 10,000 for the long weekend.

“It might take them a couple of days to get the Mangawhai village back up. That tells you that the damage is pretty extensive,” said Jepson, who lives in Mangawhai.

Moir St, the main street in the Mangawhai village, is closed as power crews work to restore the power lines. Debris is strewn over the road and fences are down.

Damage to Dianne Hope-Ede's motorhome following the tornado.

Emergency response teams are currently surveying the extent of the damage, using drones to assess the full impact across the township.

Northland MP Grant McCallum said afternoon there were now only small parts of the township without power. These streets had sustained the worst of the impact and were “heavily damaged”.

He said Northpower expected everyone’s electricity to be restored by midnight on Sunday.

There is a cordon in place around the Mangawhai village area, where the tornado has caused the most damage. Police are being kept busy controlling residents and visitors.

Power companies working along Moir St to restore power to Mangawhai Village. Photo / Hayden Woodward

A Civil Defence update said a number of active hazards remained in the village areas, including exposed power lines and fallen trees.

People inside the cordon are being advised to stay in place and not walk or cycle in the areas, and to treat all power lines as live.

“If you do not live in the affected areas, please do not enter the cordon. We need space for the emergency services to do their job and secure the area,” the Civil Defence alert said.

Emergency Management Minister Simeon Brown said he had been briefed on the storm.

“My heart goes out to those affected, including those seriously injured,” he said.

The storm also struck Waipu and Ruakākā, though Mangawhai appeared to be the worst-hit area.