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Watch: Tornado touches down in Taranaki as wild weather lashes the region

June 18, 2018

Footage has been captured of a tornado touching down in Taranaki as severe weather ripped through the region this afternoon.

The tornado was caught on camera by Geoff Christophers who told 1 NEWS about the moment it happened.

"The tornado passed just in front of me as I was driving to New Plymouth, a few kms before Waitara.

"It was fairly large as it crossed the road in front of me but by the time I could safely park the car it had passed to the south over the adjacent paddocks," Mr Christophers said.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson told 1 NEWS they've received around 11 weather-related callouts in the Taranaki region, mostly regarding flooding.

They also had one call about the tornado which lifted the roof of a chicken coop.

New ZealandWeather NewsTaranaki

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