Elderly Man Trapped in Flipped Motorhome During Reported Tornado in Northland

A mini tornado struck a Northland campground, trapping an elderly man in a flipped motorhome and destroying a caravan, according to local reports.

Emergency services were called to Tauranga Bay Holiday Park in Kāeo at around 8:45 a.m. today after reports of a tornado. The storm, which campers described as starting as a waterspout, caused significant damage to the area, including the flipping of a caravan and the trapping of a man in his mid-80s inside his motorhome.

Mandy, a regular camper at the park who did not wish to use her last name, described the chaos as the storm hit. She said she heard a loud rattling and saw strong winds hurling an awning toward the beach. “It just missed us,” she said. However, the storm soon caused destruction elsewhere in the park.

One caravan, parked in the middle of the camp, was flipped and rolled about six times before being blown about 50 meters into a pine tree. The owner had just left for work, and the caravan was headed toward another unit. “They were bracing themselves,” Mandy said.

Closer to the beachfront, a motorhome was also flipped. An older man, believed to be in his mid-80s, was trapped inside for about an hour. Another camper tried to help but couldn’t reach him. “His fridge had opened and there was food everywhere,” Mandy said. Firefighters from Kāeo and Kerikeri arrived and were able to free the man after 20 minutes. He was taken to Bay of Islands Hospital in moderate condition.

MetService reported intense rain and thunderstorms in the area, suggesting the potential for a tornado. While the agency could not confirm if one had occurred, wind gusts of up to 75 km/h were recorded in the Kāeo area.

Mandy, who has visited the campground annually for six years, said she had never seen anything like this before. “It was absolutely destroyed,” she said. She noted that the campground, usually busy during the summer, was not packed at the time of the storm. “People were a bit shaken, it was really scary.”

As of now, the area remains windy, and the full extent of the damage is still being assessed. Campers have started to leave the park, shaken by the event.