Roofs torn off as twister rips through beach town

ROARING like a jet engine, a tornado slammed into the NSW holiday centre of Lennox Head, unleashing a day of chaos on the state's north coast.

A roof disintegrates as it is hit by the tornado that struck Lennox Head. Picture supplied by Ross Tuckerman.

ROARING like a jet engine, a tornado slammed into the NSW holiday centre of Lennox Head, unleashing a day of chaos on the state's north coast that left six people injured and at least a dozen families homeless.

But locals said the toll would have been catastrophic had the twister struck an hour later, at 8.30am, because it would have caught people going to work or children travelling to school.

The tornado sprang out of a line of water spouts that formed over the ocean off Lennox Head, 211km south of Brisbane, and ripped a jagged path through the town, unroofing homes, smashing caravans and bringing down power lines.

Further north, Byron Bay resident Vicki Smith took dramatic photographs and video of a water spout reaching into the sea just after 8am. Locals were uncertain whether it was the tornado that hit Lennox Head and tracked north, or another one.

Pam and Graham Ellis had just spent their first night at home after a six-week caravan holiday when the twister struck.

It had been raining and then it started to blow, said Mrs Ellis, standing amid the plaster and tin roofing littering her backyard in Lennox Head.

"We saw things flying everywhere. . . all this damage, incredible damage, was done in less than two minutes," she said.

Packing winds upwards of 150km/h, the twister tore northwest through Lennox Head, destroying a dozen beachfront homes and unroofing 20 more.

Ida Gurman and Allan Farber had a terrifying awakening and lost the upper floor of their house in 30 seconds. "Allan said 'I think we better get up'," said Ms Gurman. "And then it was just bang, and that was it. It was down."

A woman and her daughter were among six hurt in the Lennox Head caravan park and taken to Ballina hospital, but their injuries were described as slight.