The person who died in a suspected tornado in south Auckland was "picked up and thrown at a distance" by the freak weather incident, Auckland Mayor Phill Goff says.
Ports of Auckland confirmed the death happened at its south Auckland freight hub in Wiri on Saturday morning.
Speaking to media, Goff said the person's fatal injuries were caused by the tornado picking them up and throwing them.
"I understand the person's fatal injuries were caused literally by the person being picked up and thrown at a distance and hitting a solid object," he said.
"It's really, really sad and our thoughts are with all of those that worked with, are family to, and friends of the person that was killed."
A spokesperson for the Ports of Auckland said the person who died was not one of their staffers.
Goff confirmed this saying the person wasn't "working directly" for the port and was a contractor.
Another two people were injured at the Wiri site, with Goff saying their injuries "are not life-threatening".
"I know that one of the other injuries was inflicted on a person who was a truck driver onsite. I think that those are non-fatal injuries and we wish them well in their recovery."
The tornado caused significant damage in south Auckland, with photos from the scene showing fences knocked over, tiles blown off roofs, trees uprooted and power lines down.
Some people in affected residential areas also received minor injuries and Goff says some houses have been left uninhabitable.
"We know that at least 60 houses, probably a whole lot more by the time we go through the process, have been affected, some are uninhabitable at the moment."
Goff encouraged those whose homes have been damaged to be careful when it comes to attempting repairs: "Your first instinct is your homes are damaged. You want to fix it but please be careful."
"Treat powerlines that are down as if they may be live. Most of the power lines have been cut off in the area by the storm and they haven't been reinstated, but don't take any chances."
He said a person has already been injured while trying to fix their roof and asked residents to consider getting professional help.
"Please if you're looking at repairing a roof make sure you can do it safely and preferably make sure you can get professional people in to help with those needs."
He added damage is "a blow" for families in the area, many of which "are not wealthy families".
"We're encouraging people firstly if they have a housing need that can't be met by family and friends, we are setting up an emergency centre at Ōtara Pools and Leisure where we'll try and triage people's needs and help them to find accommodation."
Earlier on Saturday, MetService meteorologist Daniel Corrigan said although it was difficult to confirm the damage was caused by a tornado, that was the most likely cause based on "convincing" footage he had seen.
"The ingredients were there that are conducive to tornado formation, so it's highly likely that an actual tornado was observed," he told Newshub.
He said the wild weather was caused by a rain band moving south over the North Island, which was also set to bring heavy rain to eastern parts of the North Island throughout the day.
