Thousands of homes and businesses are without power, and two Horowhenua townships have been urged to conserve water after severe weather felled trees and downed powerlines across the lower North Island and upper South Island.
Widespread power cuts are impacting the Nelson Tasman region and the Horowhenua District.
The weather, moving south after wreaking havoc across the upper North Island yesterday, has prompted heavy rain and strong wind warnings for central areas.
Areas affected include the Tasman ranges, Marlborough Sounds, Nelson, Buller, Grey, Westland, Kaikoura Coast, Wellington, Manawatū, Horowhenua, Kapiti Coast, Tararua, Wairarapa, and the Richmond/Bryant ranges.
Civil Defence Manawatū-Whanganui has issued a notice urging Foxton and Shannon residents to "please conserve water".
The Horowhenua District Council said: "Foxton residents, due to the current power outage, we are asking that you urgently conserve water while our local waters team work to get the back-up generator at the Foxton Water Treatment Plant online."
Road crews were working to clear felled trees blocking State Highway 27 in the Manawatū district, with another section of the road closed when a truck rolled north of Shannon just after 9am. The driver was uninjured.
State Highway 6 between Havelock and Hira at the top of the South also closed due to severe weather. NZTA said work was ongoing to assess the road's susceptibility to wind and fallen trees.
"An alternative route is available via SH6/SH63 through the Wairua Valley," a spokesperson said.
Travel across the Cook Strait was also impacted, with Interislander and Bluebridge ferries experiencing delays due to "very strong winds" and at least eight flights cancelled from Nelson Airport.
Any photos or videos of the weather? Email news@tvnz.co.nz
Power cuts across several regions
At the top of the South Island, Nelson Tasman Civil Defence reported a "widespread power cut", with the majority of the network restored.
"Customers in Hira, Atawhai and Cable Bay are still without power. Our line crews are on site repairing damage caused by trees and high winds. We’re aiming to have power restored to these areas by around 4.00pm today (subject to conditions and safe access)," lines company Network Tasman said in a statement.
"There is also an outage affecting the Springs Junction and Maruia areas. Crews are working to repair this fault as well, which has again been caused by trees and high winds."
Lines company Electra reported close to 8000 customers without power across the Horowhenua District, with outages at Foxton, Foxton Beach, Shannon, Tokomaru, and parts of Paraparaumu.
"The Tokomaru and Shannon townships have been the most significantly affected. Restoration in these areas is expected to take longer, so we encourage residents to plan accordingly in case power remains off for an extended period."
The company said the scale of the outage had seen crews called back from holiday to work.
"Given the scale of the damage, we are currently unable to provide estimated restoration times."
Most of the Buller District has had electricity restored after a "district-wide" outage last night.
Several areas across the upper North Island were stretching into their second day without power, with lines companies reporting widespread outages across southern Auckland and northern Waikato, including the Coromandel Peninsula.
Palmerston North City Council has cancelled its New Year's Eve event, including both entertainment and fireworks displays, due to the severe winds forecast.
"We are really sorry to have to make this call, especially knowing how many people were looking forward to celebrating together."
Full list of weather warnings and watches
Heavy Rain Warning - Orange
Ranges of Tasman District west of Motueka – 24 hours from 6am Wednesday to 6am Thursday
Strong Wind Warning - Orange
Manawatū, Horowhenua and Kapiti Coast – 5 hours from 9am to 2pm Tuesday
Marlborough Sounds, Nelson, and the districts of Buller, Grey and Westland north of Fox Glacier – 9 hours from 9am to 6pm Tuesday
Heavy Rain Watch
Tararua District and Wairarapa – 8 hours from 9am to 5pm Tuesday
Richmond and Bryant ranges, including the Rai Valley – 24 hours from 6am Wednesday to 6am Thursday
Kaikoura Coast – 12 hours from 9am to 9pm Tuesday
Strong Wind Watch
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