Sudden wind rips roof off carport

March 2, 2013

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Paul Smith, right, and Joe Tukia of Kapana Beach Masonry worked Friday to clear the debris of what remained of the carport roof.

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
A resident on the Alaula Way property, who asked not to be identified, said he was awakened by the sound of the roof ripping off and crashing against another home on the lot.

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COURTESY PHOTO
A carport roof rested Friday against a home along Alaula Way in Manoa. The roof was blown apart late Thursday night in what some witnesses say was a tornadolike force that lifted the roof and threw it against the adjacent house.

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A freak wind blew the roof off a carport in Manoa late Thursday night.

A neighbor said the wind came up suddenly on an otherwise calm evening at about 11 p.m. and resembled a small tornado that lifted leaves and branches into the air in a swirling pattern.

A resident on the Alaula Way property, who asked not to be identified, said he was awakened by the sound of the roof ripping off and crashing against another home on the lot.

The flying roof knocked out a power line directly above it. A Hawaiian Electric Co. crew repaired the line Friday.

"We’ve experienced sustained high winds here before, but nothing like this has ever happened," the resident said. "It’s lucky that no one was out on the street or driving by. It could have been a lot worse."