Gale force winds that swept up the country have cut power to thousands of households, closed roads and forced the cancellation of flights into and out of Wellington.
Willis Street in central Wellington has been closed. Photo: RNZ
The high winds hit Canterbury from about 4am on Monday before moving north. The strongest gust anywhere has been 214km/h, recorded at Mt Hutt.
In Wellington, extreme weather conditions, including winds of up to 160km/h, caused havoc. Emergency services and the city council said there was a surge in calls on Monday night as people reported property damage. The South Island fire communications centre was helping to answer the influx of calls from people in the lower North Island.
Traffic was backed up for kilometres on State Highway 1 north of the Wellington on Monday night following a car crash, while bus services were severely delayed after a large amount of scaffolding collapsed in Willis Street in the central city. Glass had also been blown out of a building on The Terrace.
The Wellington City Council said it has had multiple reports of trees down, roofs lifting, windows being blown in and everything from fences to bus shelters being blown over.
Air New Zealand said high winds forced the cancellation of all flights out of Wellington for the rest of the day.
Brother and sister Thomas and Joyce Ishikawa wait at Wellington Airport. Photo: RNZ
Police are requesting that people delay their travel in south Wairarapa until the extreme weather eases. Several trees have been blown down and are creating driving hazards around the district. The Rimutaka Hill Road, State Highway 2, was closed late on Monday night.
Wellington chef Martin Bosely said he watched the storm from the city's Oriental Bay and said it was one of the worst he has ever seen. Centreport's chief executive Blair O'Keeffe said four containers had fallen down, but none have gone into the sea.
The MetService said the storm is forecast to progress north overnight and clear the country by Tuesday afternoon. It also issued a heavy rain warning for Mt Taranaki and the Tararua Range until early on Tuesday morning and for Tongariro National Park until the afternoon.
Meanwhile, a truck driver has died after his vehicle rolled over a bank in Gladstone in the Wairarapa. However, police could not confirm if the crash was weather related.
Thousands without power
Power companies will be working overnight to restore power to thousands of households without electricity in the lower North Island. The battering winds have brought down trees and debris, tearing down several overhead lines and interrupting power supply.
Powerco, the lines company providing electricity to the Wairarapa, Manawatu and Whanganui regions, said about 3700 households did not have electricity late on Monday night.
Network operations manager Phil Marsh said it was difficult trying to get the lines fixed and Powerco would have crews working through the night to restore electricity to households.
Canterbury
Heavy rain and high winds in inland Canterbury were also hampering efforts to reconnect about 1000 properties that remain without power. The areas west and south of Darfield were the worst affected.
Lines company Orion said customers without power are unlikely to get it back on Monday night. Operations manager Stu Kilduff said the conditions are making the work hazardous, and as soon as the risk diminishes, crews would return and continue with repair efforts.
Earlier, the Fire Service in Canterbury said several trees were toppled and some fell on power lines, causing the power cuts and sparking small fires. A spokesperson said fire-fighters were called to a fire at pine plantation in Orari in South Canterbury and another on Massey Road near Methven.
A farmer at Carew in mid-Canterbury, Chris Atkinson, said trees had been snapped and power knocked out forcing his farm to use generators. Residents in Geraldine reported feeling their houses shake with the force of the gusts.
Meanwhile, rough seas chopped up by gale force winds have delayed the arrival of a large cruise ship into Akaroa harbour. The first of 74 cruise ships booked this season was meant to arrive on Tuesday morning, but has been delayed by 24 hours. The Sea Princess is now due to berth in Akaroa harbour on Wednesday at 6am.
West Coast and Marlborough
Some roads on the West Coast have been closed indefinitely due to landslips and the road from Te Anau to Milford has been shut from 5pm on Monday because of snow.
The road between Haast and the Haast Pass has been closed by numerous rockfalls. Heavy rain and slips are continuing and no alternative route is in place.
Further north, gales battered the eastern side of Arthur's Pass, while flooding is prevalent on the western side towards the Kumara Junction.
In Marlborough, a large tree has come down on State Highway 6 at Okaramio. The road was down to one lane between Long Valley Road and Kenningtons Road. A number of fallen trees have been reported in the district, including some in Blenheim, and Marlborough residents are being urged to stay away from parks and reserves.
