STORM BATTERS NEW ZEALAND, CANCELS 200 FLIGHTS AND CUTS POWER TO THOUSANDS

A low-pressure system swept across central New Zealand on Friday, bringing severe weather that disrupted transport and utilities across the region. Met Service issued multiple severe weather warnings as the storm progressed, with wind gusts exceeding 150 kilometres per hour recorded overnight in parts of the country. Wellington airport cancelled approximately 200 flights as conditions deteriorated, with the facility stating that most services in and out of the capital would not resume until winds eased. Air New Zealand suspended all domestic flights to and from Wellington and New Plymouth airports, confirming that services would only resume once conditions became safe.

Wellington Electricity reported that 4,000 customers lost power as the storm intensified, though the utility had restored supply to nearly 3,000 customers by the time of reporting. The forecaster warned of sustained heavy rain and wind gusts up to 120 kilometres per hour as the system moved across the country. In Lower Hutt, located northeast of Wellington, officials reported flooded roads and two landslides, prompting emergency services to respond to the affected areas.

Wellington Electricity stated on its website that restoring power to all customers could take several days, potentially extending into the middle of the following week. The utility warned that further outages could occur as wind speeds peaked during the evening hours. Wellington airport indicated that resumption of flights depended on forecast wind conditions easing the following day.