New Zealand faced a barrage of severe weather warnings on Thursday, with heavy downpours triggering a state of emergency in Christchurch, the South Island's largest city, and "destructive" gales lashing the capital, Wellington.
Heavy snow and large waves battered other parts of the country, though no deaths or serious injuries were reported as of Thursday afternoon NZT.
The full extent of the damage remained unclear.
Wellington, notorious for its blustery conditions, experienced its first-ever red wind warning – the highest alert level – as gusts reached up to 150kph (93 mph).
MetService, the national meteorological service, warned of a "threat to life" from falling trees and flying debris, urging residents to stay indoors, avoid travel, and keep away from doors and windows.
The severe weather also brought heavy downpours, prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency in Christchurch.
While damage assessments were still underway, initial reports indicated that evacuations were not widespread.
Flights to and from Wellington were cancelled throughout Thursday and passenger ferry sailings between the North and South Islands were halted until at least Friday afternoon.
MetService expected five metre (16 foot) swells in the Cook Strait, the body of water between New Zealand’s two largest islands.
About 1,000 properties were without electricity Thursday afternoon in the wider Wellington region, which has a population of 550,000.
The city’s largest university closed for the day, the Royal New Zealand Ballet cancelled an evening performance, and several schools sent students home.
Wellington is New Zealand’s windiest city, registering gusts at gale speeds of 63 kph (39 mph) on about half the days of the year. But Wellington’s emergency management chief, Dan Neely, warned residents to take the warnings seriously because the southerly tempest was unusually strong and could threaten lives, Radio New Zealand reported.
In the city of Christchurch, the largest in the South Island, and in some nearby rural areas, heavy deluges caused rivers to spill over their banks, closing roads and prompting fears the floodwaters could reach homes. Local states of emergency were declared Thursday, including in Christchurch, Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell told reporters.
Orange-level warnings – the second most serious – were issued across parts of both islands for severe rain and large sea swells, and in some South Island districts for heavy snow. The storm system that lay across much of the country Thursday was due to ease Friday.
New Zealanders are accustomed to wild winter conditions because of geographic features that produce variable and sometimes extreme weather across the country of five million people. But it was unusual that such widespread warnings were issued.
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