Rare tornado hits Zealand city of AucklandDecember 6, 2012 - 10:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Three people have been killed as a rare tornado ripped through western suburbs of the New Zealand city of Auckland, BBC News reported. The tornado struck Hobsonville and Whenuapai on Thursday, Dec 6, uprooting trees and taking roofs off houses. One resident described the storm as "five minutes of utter devastation". Two of those who died were believed to be working on the construction of a school and another was hit by a tree, the Civil Defence office said. Another seven people were taken to hospital, said the office in a statement, adding that 150 homes had been badly damaged. "About 150 homes have been displaced at Whenuapai and many have been deemed uninhabitable or are without power," it said, adding that some 250 residents were being taken care of at an air force base. A number of planned flights were delayed by the storm, which also caused power outages in several suburbs. Fallen trees and debris blocked some roads. "This must have been an extremely frightening situation for many people in the local community," Prime Minister John Key said in a statement. "I'd like to thank the emergency services staff, who are responding to the situation. It's critical they are able to focus on the response." The tornado was accompanied by thunderstorms and heavy rain. As of 16:30 local time (03:30GMT) the last active thunderstorm had moved south-east and was expected to dissipate, said New Zealand's meteorological office. Auckland was last hit by a tornado in May 2011, when one person died. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |