Extreme Weather in New Zealand on Wednesday, 09 January, 2013 at 21:20 (09:20 PM) UTC.

Description
A "mini-tornado" has hit Kaikoura, cutting power to a number of homes, as gales and heavy rain continue to lash the country. Police confirmed they were at the scene, on Beach Rd, after the "mini tornado" hit earlier this morning. No one was believed to have been injured but a house was understood to have lost its roof, police south communications shift manager Hemi Waratini said. Power was also out in many areas. Mainpower confirmed a number of power lines were down and linesmen were working to restore electricity to houses. Engineering network manager Peter Hurford said Beach Rd was the worst affected area. Meanwhile, wind continued to howl in Wellington and eastern areas this morning, with gusts in excess of 130kmh hammering the capital, while heavy rain was moving away from Southland toward the headwaters of Otago and the Canterbury lakes. Fire service shift manager Murray Dunbar said between 7.30am and 8am firefighters were called to secure roofs that were lifting in the Wellington suburbs of Karori and Kilbirnie.
[link to hisz.rsoe.hu]