Parts of Wellington's electricity network could be down for days, after severe winds caused widespread damage and saw the cancellation of 200 flights.
MetService yesterday issued a rare Red wind warning - its highest - as winds of up to 130km/h were recorded, saying there was "threat to life".
Severe winds smashed Wellington, lifting roofs, felling trees, closing roads and sparking numerous emergency callouts.
Power has been cut to thousands of properties across Wellington, Wairarapa and Manawatū - but many in the capital may not have their power back on for days.
"Last night we restored power to several areas. However, due to the continued high winds we saw some new outages, and even some repeat outages, as trees and debris were blown into our lines.
"As conditions ease today our crews are continuing their restoration efforts. As with yesterday, our first priority is to attend any faults which present a safety concern, with our next priority being to restore power to the largest affected areas.
"We’re now sending teams to single premise faults to determine our restoration focus for today and the next few days. Due to the isolated nature of some of these faults, customers may not have their power restored today."
Wellington was under an orange level heavy rain warning until midday, and Wairarapa, south of Masterton, until 3pm.
Wellington Region Emergency Management Office said people should expect to see debris and some surface flooding on the roads.
"We are still advising people not to travel unless necessary. If you do need to travel, plan ahead, drive to the conditions, be aware of debris and expect delays."
Julie Paterson was on Hayward Terrace, in the suburb of Waiwhetū, when she heard a loud crack and ran for her life as a branch fell towards her yesterday. She said it was terrifying and the city council needed to do something about it.
More disruptions as flights resume
Wellington Airport advised that conditions had eased enough in the capital for flights to begin operating again.
However, the airport cautioned that there still may be some disruptions today, depending on the weather. Passengers should check with their airline for specific flight information.
The major domestic and international hub was closed yesterday after MetService issued a Red wind warning, with winds gusting up to 130km/h - the strongest in a decade in Wellington.
A number of passengers had to sleep at the airport overnight due to cancelled flights and full hotels.
Some 200 flights, both international and domestic, were cancelled in and out of the capital yesterday, and there had been a couple of cancellations and diversions this morning.
Air New Zealand's head of airports, Kate Boyer, told RNZ's Nine to Noon programme the national carrier cancelled 157 of those 200 flights and upwards of 22,000 customers were affected.
"It was an extremely challenging day for us yesterday with Wellington closed throughout the day... so a really high scale of disruption and we know how challenging that is for our customers and the stress and concern that that puts on them so we are working as quickly as we can to recover the network and make sure people can get where they need to go."
The winds had dropped to about 90km/h but despite the airport reopening today, she said two flights had been disrupted this morning, including one that was diverted back to Christchurch and one from Dunedin that was diverted to Palmerston North.
Boyer said pilots would not land if they deemed it unsafe.
Air New Zealand had completed rebooking its international customers and was assisting domestic customers as it could, noting that they could "self-serve" by rebooking themselves using the Air NZ app. The airline was not able to help with accommodation, however it was trying to provide customers with guidance and help with rebooking so that costs did not impact them, Boyd said.
Wellington Airport's head of operations Matthew Palliser told Nine to Noon they were operating in recovery mode to clear the backlog.
He said some people slept in the airport last night. "Our hotel was full and we had a number of people who had to stay in the terminal, so we kept the heating on and looked after them."
Palliser said that number of flight cancellations was rare - even for a normally windy Wellington.
"It's highly unusual to have to cancel the flights for an entire day. We do have periods sometimes where flights are diverted because of winds, but to have a whole day was definitely an exceptional circumstance.
"If passengers can make sure they are communicating and checking with their airlines that flights are on time, and make sure you come to the airport nice and early as there will be high volumes of people coming through."
Meanwhile, Interislander Cook Strait ferry sailings have been cancelled until at least Friday afternoon due to big swells, while Bluebridge sailings won't resume until Saturday.
Roads affected
Roads on Wellington's south coast remain closed because of debris thrown across them by big seas yesterday.
The city council said it was likely sections of the road from Seatoun to Ōwhiro Bay would be closed for much of today while crews check on damage and start a clean-up. The stretch between Lyall Bay and Island Bay is open.
Hutt City Council said it remained in an active emergency response and contractors have been out across Lower Hutt overnight clearing debris, unblocking drains and addressing hazards.
The Lower Hutt suburb of Eastbourne remains cut off this morning.
A slip on Ferry Rd in Days Bay is blocking both lanes with no access in or out, apart from emergency vehicles.
Hutt City Council said contractors plan to open one lane for residents.
Both lanes of Wainuiomata Hill Rd would be opened for peak traffic travelling to Lower Hutt this morning, though lanes may be reduced at 10am to pull down potentially loose material and mitigate further slippage, which may take a number of hours.
The Petone Esplanade around the Cuba St area is experiencing significant surface flooding and people have been told to avoid the area.
