New footage has emerged of a violent and destructive tornado that ripped through Central Otago on Saturday.
In it, wild winds can be seen whipping around parked vehicles, sending large pieces of debris flying.
A witness described the "incredible and chilling" moment the tornado hit as it damaged four houses and obliterated a caravan near Alexandra.
Police received multiple calls but no injuries were reported. However, a house lost its roof and debris was found scattered in the area, a spokesman said.
Connor Diver, of Alexandra, was driving and pulled over to capture the moment the tornado hit.
His photos show a destroyed caravan flying through the air in pieces after being torn apart.
"They were in shock but all OK. The police and fire department were pulling up at that point, so we took off.”
A warning of moderate thunderstorms in the area had been issued by MetService earlier in the day.
A woman posed on social media: "Never heard continuous thunder like we had here tonight in Alexandra".
Alexandra farmer Marcus Allan learned of the tornado after a neighbour contacted him to say property he had been storing in Springvale had been damaged.
"I just came out to check on it - we got a phone call from the neighbours saying our stuff was just not here, and we soon found out that it wasn't.''
A 2.5m x2.5m portacom containing hunting gear and other equipment was lost to the tornado, with the the only evidence of its existence debris strewn across paddocks.
"There's remnants of it about 50m over yonder over there and about 100m in the opposite direction over by the road from the tornado .... and now we've got to clean it up. There's s*** everywhere."
An internet cable at the property was also ripped up and damaged.
"My workmate who was in Alexandra noticed that there was the spiral was forming out here and he's like, 'Oh let's go have a look at it'.
"He was about halfway down the road when we came past and he's like, 'Oh, hopefully that's not your place'. It was.''
"We received reports that there had been a tornado touch down, or strong winds. There had been some damage to buildings and reports of roofs lifting off."
The damage was only limited to one area outside of Alexandra, he said.
Four fire trucks were sent to Springvale to help with damage. All had left by 7.16pm.
The public were been urged to stay away from the area until further notice.
Surface flooding had also been reported on State Highway 85, between Springvale and Chatto Creek, near the Brassknocker Rd intersection.
A 30km/h temporary speed restriction was place and road users advised to take extra care along this route.
