Capital chaos: Wild Wellington winds cause mayhem as person blown into traffic

A person was blown into traffic on a Wellington street this morning as strong winds caused chaos in the capital.

Dashcam footage, captured by Justin Ashworth, showed traffic lights and tree branches swaying before the person was blown onto the road.

The person appeared to be walking cautiously before the strong gusts push them forward.

In the footage, they are seen trying, but failing, to stop themselves before they tumble onto the street and roll on the road.

Luckily, no cars were in their path.

Their bag was quickly carried off by the wind after they fell.

Wild weather swept through much of the country today as the first of two severe weather systems moved north from the South Island.

A man died on Wellington’s Mt Victoria after being struck by a falling tree branch.

Air New Zealand paused all flights in and out of Wellington Airport until 1pm due to the high winds.

The airline’s chief operations officer Alex Marren, said high winds were impacting flight operations in and out of the city.

Many flights arriving and departing from the airport were cancelled or diverted.

Thousands were left without power in the lower North Island after unplanned outages.

Wellington recorded peak wind speeds of around 110-115km/h while gusts as fast as 124km/h were recorded in the suburb of Kelburn.

MetService meteorologist Katie Hillyer told the Herald that peak gusts as fast as 145km/h were recorded at Remutaka Summit.

Other exposed places had wind speeds around 140km/h, she said.

“So, extremely windy even by Wellington standards.”

Strong gusts also disrupted the Hawke’s Bay region, with several roads being closed.

A person was seriously injured after a truck tipped over on State Highway 2 in the Central Hawke’s Bay this morning.

A truck blown off the road on State Highway 2 near Takapau on Tuesday. Photo / Supplied

In the South Island, several main roads were closed due to slips and tree falls.

Flooding was also rampant as several rivers were running high.

Multiple sections of state highways on the West Coast had major flooding, prompting warnings to road users.

Much of the country was under strong wind and rain warnings and watches.

The severe weather is expected to ease slightly tomorrow before another system, which is likely stronger, hits on Thursday, MetService said.

Yesterday, heavy rain and gale-force winds caused major disruption in the South Island, with flights cancelled and extensive power outages.

Fire crews in Dunedin attended calls for a collapsed building, as well as fallen trees and power lines, flying sheds and lifting roofs.