Levin locals have described a vicious wind that blew out windows, ripped off roofs and left dozens of birds dead.
The Horowhenua District Council said the area was hit by a tornado around 7.45am on Tuesday.
Caroline Beaufort-Puna said she was still in shock at the destruction at her property in Waikawa.
"We can only explain it as the strength of a tornado. There were birds ripped from the trees, the trees were downed onto the powerlines.
"The cottage on the farm's roof has been completely ripped off and all the windows on the west side have been blown in."
She said the wind lifted two empty water tanks into the air and dumped them in different paddocks about 100m away.
"And there were birds all over the place. Little dead birds obviously ripped out of their trees, they couldn't withstand the wind.... just mangled."
She was worried about her horses, concerned that she might find one "chucked in the river", but said they were spooked but otherwise unharmed.
"It must have been really terrifying for the animals. It's pretty crazy, I'm still in shock."
Levin Top 10 Holiday Park owner Debbie Wright said she was in her office when the weather started ramping up as the tornado came through her park.
"I heard the rain and wind getting bigger and bigger, I didn't know if it was an earthquake or what it was. We've got a couple people who were a bit shaken up and just needed a hug."
Wright said residents gathered together in communal areas and were looking after one another.
On Wilton Street, damage was clearly visible - although residents said debris and loose items had been cleaned up.
Samantha Lewer's balcony was blown in. She said the storm came on all of a sudden, then she heard a loud crash. Despite her roof lifting, she said she was able to stay in her house and was waiting for assessors to arrive.
She said the storm was dramatic to watch.
"We've lost fences, smashed windows, trampolines and corrugated iron and trees down. We've got trees in our backyard that don't belong to us and corrugated iron that doesn't belong to us... just a really bad storm."
She said the severe weather caused the fence around her balcony to suddenly lift.
"We were standing by the right hand window and saw the balcony detach and came towards the window, so we ran for cover."
Extensive damage' but no emergency - council
Horowhenua District Council chief executive Monique Davidson said there was "extensive damage to many parts of Levin".
Damage had been reported to buildings and properties in a number of places, as well as schools, kindies and community halls.
She said the council had not declared an emergency, but had activated its incident management team.
Davidson said contractors were out helping people and clearing roads, and council staff had been checking with the worst-affected places.
Skip bins were being taken to the worst-affected places so debris could be collected.
Mayor Bernie Wanden said it did not appear to have caused as much damage as 2022's tornado, but it had affected similar places.
Fire and Emergency's Craig Gold said there were multiple crews out in the community, with damaged roofs the current priority.
