Auckland and Northland battered by storm

About 11,000 homes are without power across Auckland this morning as the storm battering the region continues.

Almost 17,000 customers were cut off from their electricity supply at the height of the storm, Vector said.

The worst affected areas are in Te Atatu, Helensville, Takanini, Waiheke and Muriwai.

While Whenupai, Coatesville, Helensville, Takanini, Whangaripo, Waiwera, South Head, Muriwai, Tapora, the Kaipara hills and Kaukapakapa are also experiencing outages.

Trees, branches and debris were responsible, Vector said, striking power lines or bringing the lines down.

"As predicted, the winds worsened overnight and these winds are expected to remain strong through to 1pm this afternoon," the lines company said.

"Vector's extra crews and support staff have been working hard overnight to ensure power in these areas can be restored but these efforts are being hampered by remaining strong winds.

"Safety of our crews and the public is of paramount importance, so please take care in these adverse conditions. Crews will not continue working if conditions are unsafe."

Large outages would be dealt with first, followed by the smaller outage areas.

It warned people to stay away from downed lines, and to immediately report them.

In the Far North, around 12,800 households are without power following the storm.

Taipa, Pukenui and Russell are the worst hit, Top Energy said, with 6850 homes without power in those three towns.

Approximately 9000 households were without power overnight as the storm worsened after 7pm.

"Damage to the electricity network across the Far North is extensive. Electricity poles have been blown down, uprooted and even snapped, and large 50-60 year-old trees have been blown down across lines and access roads," a Top Energy spokesman said.

"The company's repair crews were at work all day yesterday and overnight. The appalling conditions have eased considerably and linesmen will be on site from 6am to start re-connecting people as quickly as possible as soon as there is enough daylight to work safely."

Repairs would likely be hindered due to "access issues", he said, due to downed trees and flooding.

FLIGHTS CANCELLED

A number of regional flights to Auckland Airport have been cancelled this morning.

The stormy weather has been blamed for the cancellations and a number of delays to arrivals to the airport.

A flight from the Bay of Islands, and flights from Whangarei, Nelson and Hamilton have all been cancelled this morning. All were operated by Air New Zealand.

However, no major international or national flights have been impacted by the bad weather, Auckland Airport operations shift manager Gabriel Thompson said.

There had been "no issues" overnight, he said, and business was operating as normal this morning.

"All our domestic departures are running smoothly for both Air New Zealand and Jetstar."

 

 

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