High winds have battered Wellington on Thursday, with MetService issuing a red strong wind warning that will remain overnight.
Wellington has seen widespread power outages, cancelled flights and flooded roads.
Schools and businesses closed early across the city, and people are being asked to stay off the roads, as wild weather continues.
MetService said the wind would continue to blow hard into the evening, with gusts up to 120kph, but the worst was over. Wellington hadn't had a red warning, since the categories were introduced in 2019.
MetService warned of a threat to life from flying items and falling trees, while the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office advised people to shelter in internal rooms, such as bathrooms.
WREMO regional manager Dan Neely said, despite the fact Wellingtonians lived in a windy town, they shouldn't get complacent.
"These events can catch people off guard, whether they're driving or they walking... so we just want people to be extra careful."
Road closures in Hutt City
Hutt City Council said severe weather had forced road closures and restrictions in Hutt City.
Marine Drive currently has a one-lane 'stop-go' section in Mahina Bay to allow contractors to work on making the road safe.
From about 6pm, the road between Howard Rd and Wellesley School would close in both directions - except for emergency vehicles - for two hours either side of high tide, due to expected unsafe conditions.
Another high tide is due at 8.40am Friday and, if the road is unable to reopen tonight, it would then reopen about 10.30am.
Port Road was re-opened at 3:30pm so people could go home. In line with Marine Drive, the road then closed at 6pm for high tide.
Traffic management has been installed on Wainuiomata Hill Road for contractors to work on a slip.
The two north-bound lanes for travel from Wainuiomata to Lower Hutt were closed. Traffic was down to one lane in each direction from the base of the Hill on each side. The lane closure will remain until the risk of further slips has been mitigated.
Meanwhile, Wellington City Council has closed Moa Point Road, between the southern runway and Spruce Goose Café.
Wellington's Island Bay bears the brunt of the southerlies. Photo: RNZ / Mary Argue
All flights in and out of Wellington Airport on Thursday afternoon and evening were also cancelled, with the possible exception of QF163 from Sydney, scheduled to land at 11:55pm.
Not all power may be restored tonight
Wellington Electricity said some outages were restored, but more had occurred, as trees and debris were blown onto powerlines.
"As night approaches, we'll have to stand down some of our crews, due to safety constraints and fatigue management," a spokesperson said. "We have teams in place to take over, but due to the number of faults and adverse conditions, we may not be able to restore all power outages until tomorrow."
On Thursday afternoon, 1500 customers were without power in Wellington.
Lower Hutt residents battle winds
In the Lower Hutt suburb of Petone, fire crews and bystanders struggled to secure a roof in high winds.
Genevieve Le Roux, who lives in the house, said when she first heard a noise, she thought it was at the neighbours'.
"We came to look outside and we realised one of the roof panels was lifting," she said. "When they got up on the ladder, they realised the whole roof was lifting."
Wellington Water contractors were pumping floodwater off Port Road in the nearby Lower Hutt suburb of Seaview.
Damian Williams said they'd shifted thousands of litres of water off the road and out to sea.
A resident in Eastbourne's Days Bay said he and his housemates had boarded up the sea-facing windows of their home two days before the storm struck.
He said he had a sleepless night, because of the noise of the wind and sea, and he was concerned about logs and debris in the water impacting the building.
Another resident said she wasn't sure if she would make it into work in the Hutt Valley in the morning.
She said this morning's commute was difficult in the dark, with logs and debris obstructing the road around the bays, as well as road cones and lane adjustments from seawall work in the area.
She had seen storms hit the Eastbourne Coast over the previous 10-15 years and felt this week's storm was not quite as bad, but had been complicated by the winds and sea shifting temporary fencing and construction markers lining the road.
