"I have never seen anything like this. Strong winds just started blowing, followed by a hail storm.According to local media reports, it blew off roof tops, uprooting trees and destroying fences and walls in its wake. This video shows the extensive damage caused.
"There was no way I could save my shack, so I took my little niece, Owethu, and put her in the food cupboard. I then lifted my skirt and told the other children in the house to hide."
more than 50 calls for help after a large hail storm caused widespread damage on Saturday afternoon.
A large thunderstorm hit Grafton around 1.20pm, with hail the size of tennis balls battering some parts of the region.
SES Clarence Nambucca region controller Michael Harper said SES resources from neighbouring towns were called in to respond to the large numbers of requests for help.
"We had about 50 or more call outs on Saturday afternoon, and they were virtually all for broken windows, smashed skylights and roof damage," Mr Harper said.
"It was a busy afternoon for them, we had about 10 crews out cleaning up and helping people, with most jobs completed by 10pm that same day, with only one or two left over the finish the next day."
Mr Harper said Saturday's hail storm was the first major storm to hit Grafton since the start of the storm season.
"There were hail stones up to seven to eight centimetres in size which is quite large," he said.
"The storm went for about 15 or 20 minutes, and in that time it did cause some damage.
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