A Mum And Three Kids Took Shelter In A Hallway As A “Violent” Tornado Barreled Past Their Home Toppling Trees And Poles, And Causing “Significant” Damage To A Bay Of Plenty Kiwifruit Orchard

A mum and three kids took shelter in a hallway as a “violent” tornado barreled past their home toppling trees and poles, and causing “significant” damage to a Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchard. Shelley Edmiston and Marc Jenkins’ family of six live on an orchard near Katikati. Shelley and the girls – aged 16, 13 and 13 – were home while a 9-year-old boy was out with his father when the tornado hit just before 5PM. They looked out the lounge ranch slider and saw debris flying as a tornado tore through the kiwifruit orchard, taking out tall trees and orchard poles as it neared their yard. She says a heavy glass table was picked up off the deck and tossed, and a brick wall near the garage fell over, just missing Edmiston’s car. Orchard manager Marc Jenkins says the damage is “significant” and could run to $100,000 with trees ripped from the ground huge poles come down on kiwifruit vines and shelter cloths lost or ripped.