Baypark Stadium is off limits today following last night's tornado while debris from the damaged roof is cleared from the training fields.

A gust from last night's storm took out a shed in Owens Place, tipping the roof onto the neigbouring property and destroying the barrier arms at the Te Maunga crossing before blowing away three bays of the stadium roof.

Photos: Jamie Troughton, Dscribe Media Services. Video: Pierre Odendaal.

Today, the debris is scattered across the paddocks as far as the water treatment plant.

'We don't know how long it's going to take to repair,” says Bay Venues Ltd CEO Gary Dawson, 'but at this stage the ASB arena is still going ahead.

'All of our functions are happening and rugby doesn't start for a little while, so in the short term it's business as usual for us.”

The tornado lifted off 10-15 per cent of the roof, says Gary.

Elsewhere, Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby says there are no reports of injuries following last night's freak storm.

'Tornados arrive very quickly and they leave very quickly and the damage is quite localised,” says Stuart. 'It's quite bizarre.

'On one side of the street a house could be badly damaged and on the other side things are fine.”

A welfare centre set up last night wasn't needed, and power has now been completely restored, he said.

NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell's wife and children were at home when the tornado came through Waitui Grove, reports Stuff.

'I got a phone call saying what felt like a freight train had come through,” says Clayton, who was in Auckland on business.

His fence blew over and was ripped up but houses further down the street were worse off.

'We were pretty lucky,” he adds. 'We will have to get the roof checked, but one family had to leave their house and get it secured by the Fire Service.”

The twister was the second tornado to rip through the street in the last eight months.

'It's pretty amazing really,” he adds. 'Afterwards all the neighbours came out into the street in a show of solidarity.”

His wife Erika and daughter were shaken by the tornado, while his two sons slept through it.

Meanwhile, Housing New Zealand staff are visiting Mount Maunganui tenants to check on their safety following the events of last night.

A statement from the authority confirmed that all tenants are safe and well, but several Housing New Zealand properties have been damaged and there is significant debris.

'We're still assessing the damage to our properties in the area,” says Housing New Zealand Regional Manager Tenancy Services Darren Toy.

'We are personally visiting all of our tenants to check on them and make sure they are safe and well. Everyone is unharmed, but obviously a bit anxious and shaken after the experience.”

Housing New Zealand's maintenance contractors are already on site and working with local teams to identify urgent jobs and make sure they are completed as quickly as possible.

'Tenants should call us on: 0800 801 601 to report any instances of damage to their properties – particularly if they believe it's an urgent health and safety issue,” adds Darren.