The clean up is underway in New Plymouth streets that were hit by two tornadoes early on Sunday morning.
Power was cut to 300 homes when the tornadoes ripped through central New Plymouth at about 4.15am.
Powerco says it was restored to all except five properties by 5pm on Sunday.
It says the five properties still without power are unsafe, and require their owners to undertake remedial work before they are reconnected.
The clean up is well underway on New Plymouth streets.
Radio New Zealand's reporter at the scene on Sunday afternoon said most of the debris from the tornadoes was piled on the side of the road and damaged houses had been patched with tarpaulins.
But he added there were still some trees decorated with large sheets of roofing iron.
The Fire Service says the twisters, described as short and sharp, shattered windows, lifted roofs and uprooted trees.
There have been no reports of injuries but 15 commercial premises have been damaged and at least half a dozen houses and garages lost all or part of their roofs, the iron and timber smashing into other buildings.
One of the tornadoes shattered a plate-glass veranda on the Grand Central Hotel and blew heavy roof tiles from the roof of a church hall near St Mary's Anglican Cathedral.
The worst tornado hit light trades-related workshops in Molesworth Street, and houses in Lemon Street, Pendarves Street and Ridge Lane.
'Everything's just ruined'
Delwyn West says most of her home is soaked by the torrential rain that poured through the shattered roof.
They were woken up by the noise of the hail and wind, she says, and had to quickly get out of the house. Half the roof is now missing and with water coming in, "everything's just ruined".
The twisters continued inland for four blocks, smashing into century-old three-storey houses in Ridge Lane, where Sinea Hughes was lucky to escape unscathed when the glass walls and roof of a conservatory imploded over her head. "The wind started howling," she says, "and I felt my hair go up."
A New Plymouth police sergeant, Ross Wright, says commercial properties from Gover St to the racecourse have been particularly badly damaged, and business owners should ensure their buildings are secure.