Weather experts say the wild wind that ripped through Cambridge in the early hours of this morning may have been a small tornado.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a funnel of dust as winds lifted roofs off houses, knocked down trees, cut power and sweeped away an aviary and its budgies.
When the wind struck the Waikato town at 3am, residents had trouble figuring out what was going on.
"I was laying awake and I heard this noise," a local rest home resident said. "And it was a rush and a bang and it blew my window shut. And I thought what is it? Is it a truck or something?"
Like many in Cambridge. the residents of Oakdale Rest Home where jolted from their sleep. Part of their roof had been ripped off and heavy rain was pouring in.
Security guard Lloyd Snaith was doing his rounds outside and reported seeing bits of metal and other debris flying through the air.
Across town another early riser was getting dressed when the winds blew over two 50-year-old trees.
"I wasn't sure whether the tree was coming through the window and break all the glass, so I was crapping myself," resident Frank van Vroonhoven told 3 News.
The fire service estimates that up to 100 houses were in the path of the storm, but despite the widespread damage, there were no injuries.
By midmorning the cleanup was well under way, but memories of the freak storm will take much longer to clear away.
Late this afternoon, the council declared six houses uninhabitable. Most of their occupants will stay with friends tonight, while their homes are repaired and made liveable again.
3 News
