New Zealand's largest city Auckland on Tuesday was hit by a tornado, killing one person and injuring dozens more as the twister lifted the roof off a suburban Albany Megacentre shopping mall.

New Zealand Metservice meteorologist Peter Kreft said the tornado hit without warning and twisters are rare in the country.

Reports from AFP and television footage showed huge pieces of debris flying through the air after the tornado hit at about 3pm (0300 GMT), turning over cars and uprooting trees, leaving a trail of destruction in the suburb of Albany.

Witnesses said the tornado sounded like 'a giant vacuum cleaner' as it reaps the roof of the Albany mall.

Police said details of the tornado's impact remained incomplete as reports are still being gathered in the field, but at least one man was killed and more than 20 people injured. Witness Rob Crawford said the scene resembled a disaster movie.

"Car parks scattered with the remains of trees, upturned cars. There's iron off the roof... it's surreal,'" he told the New Zealand Herald.

"It's a movie set. (You think) is this real, is this happening? But when you see people lying on the ground, covered in blood, clutching their heads, it's damn real," One witness told Sky News that cars were crushed with people inside.Relief efforts are still being organised by the Auckland city council.