Strong winds have been making it difficult for lines crews responding to power outages in the lower South Island.
Photo: Supplied/ MetService
Extended power blackouts are affecting thousands of people in parts of the lower South Island, after strong winds, and for some, the outages will continue for the next two days into Monday.
On Saturday, electricity network company PowerNet said three of its networks were badly disrupted by stormy weather overnight.
They were OtagoNet, Electricity Invercargill and The Power Company, which services Southland.
PowerNet said teams worked to restore power, but faced challenging conditions, and the safety of crews came first.
Some customers could remain without power into Monday and people who were medically dependent on electricity should plan accordingly.
Strong winds overnight and into Saturday kept firefighters busy in the lower South Island, including calls for help with roofs lifting off houses and fallen trees.
MetService forecasters issued strong wind warnings, with gusts up to 130kph in places, although the orange warning was due to expire at 3pm on Saturday.
In the North Island, an orange strong wind warning for Hawke’s Bay, Napier and down to the Tararua District was still in place until 10pm Sunday, and a heavy swell warning was in place for parts of Wairarapa, from 1am Sunday until late Monday.
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