Grant McCallum: Northland MP on the Mangawhai tornado, clean up effort

At least 50 properties have been damaged in Mangawhai following the tornado that ripped through the Northland town over the weekend. 

Two people were taken to hospital with serious injuries. 

MP for Northland Grant McCallum has been in Mangawhai witnessing the damage and joins the show to give an update on the situation. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Speaking of storms, the cleanup will continue this morning in
Munga Phi after a tornado ripped through the beachside northern town.
Around fifty buildings received damage and two people were taken
to hospital with serious injuries, one of them thrown out
of her second story house while sleeping. Yikes. Northern Power
says some areas will be without power for much of

(00:21):
the day. Grant McCallum is the MP for Orphaned and
he's been in Mungafi surveying the damage and he joins me, now,
good lord, Grant, what on earth struck the place?

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yeah, good morning, Raman. Yeah, it was. It was pretty devastating.
It was. It's quite uncanny. We will see those pictures
in America where the tornadoes go through town and you'll
go there'll be a strip with our destruction on either side.
Not now, pretty okay, And that was pretty much what
it was like. And it was just it was just phenomenal.
It was one of the fire Emergency Control of They

(00:52):
told us the worst he's ever seen from a tornado.
That he's very experienced. There's not the Jilm's history of
tornadoes is not nearly that destruct as a whole, So
that's just amazing. It's just a totally devastation. Are really
few of the people that have had their lives turned
upside down? In some cases quite literally?

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah, look, there'd be a lot of people just wondering
what's next and literally, who's going to help me? What
is the latest information that you've heard from from the
local authorities.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, well we at the end of the day yesterday
things have been clean up with progressing pretty well in
terms of getting rid of the trees from the from
the roads and getting the power power back on. The
there was a numerous poles down broken. Some of the
poles are smashing the little pieces, you know, the concrete
poles pieces, and North Power did a great job of

(01:39):
putting getting the power back on unfortunately, because we'll probably
all been back on by about midnight last night, but
some of the reasons took to cutting the wires across
their driveway, which slowed down the progress. Not something recommended
to treat all wires as live at all time, please people,
because there's no guarantee that they won't be and we
don't need that into the challenges we've got.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
No, absolutely not. You know how television always focuses on
the worst picture, and they go back to the worst picture.
How widespread was this, how much? How much of that
damage was isolated just a couple of very tight little
areas as opposed to a wider region.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Yeah, it was. It was only relevant small area. They
said in your leader about fifty homes affected, and some
of them, some of them were just completely devastate a handful. Yeah,
it was only a very concentrated area, two concentrated areas,
and the devastation was immense. And where it did hit,
you know, you couldn't believe. It's some big trees that

(02:36):
have been there for well over one hundred years. It's
like flat cars crushed, you know, and people just distraught.
And one lady came up to us as we were
having a looked around and said, this a husband needed
when they needed boughter to flush the toilet. And this
is suppose what happens in is as like this. I
said to the label, you've got a water tank, Yes,
you've got a bucket, Yes you've got a rope. Yes,

(02:56):
we'll chuck the bucket in the tank, and just clearly
whereas we can think clearly because you're coming to the
outside and when you be caught up in a pretty.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Devastating absolutely, Grant McCallum, north of the MP thank you
so much for your time this morning on Early Edition.
I hope you get some central government support as well.
Even though it's small, it will be expensive.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Listen live to News Talks itt B from five am weekdays,
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