Residents of a North Island township have been told to urgently conserve water as thousands of homes are without power and a main highway has been closed due to wild weather and a flipped truck.
Civil Defence Manawatū-Whanganui has issued a notice urging Foxton residents to “please conserve water”.
The Horowhenua District Council posted a notice on its Facebook page saying: “Foxton residents, due to the current power outage, we are asking that you urgently conserve water while our local waters team work to get the back-up generator at the Foxton Water Treatment Plant online.”
And while road crews worked to clear felled trees blocking SH27 in the Manawatū, a further section of the highway was closed after a truck rolled north of Shannon at 9.15am.
⚠️Warnings Update
— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 29, 2025
🟠 🟡Here are our latest Heavy Rain and Strong Winds Warning and Watches through until the Jan 01, 2026!
🌧️Heavy Rain can cause streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions possible. Clear your drains and… pic.twitter.com/qj3XHdUQb9
The MetService’s latest update includes more heavy rain and strong wind warnings - particularly for the top of the South Island.
Those near the ranges of Tasman District west of Motueka are told to expect 100 to 130mm of rain, with peak rates of 10 to 20mm/h expected tomorrow morning and again from tomorrow night.
The warning is in place for 24 hours from 6am tomorrow through to 6am on New Year’s Day.
A strong orange wind warning is currently in place for Manawatū, Horowhenua and Kapiti Coast until 2pm.
Weather authorities say severe gales of up to 120km/h are forecast in exposed places. The impact can include damage to trees, powerlines and unsecured structures.
“Driving may be difficult, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.”
This morning, Powerco said western regions of both islands and the Coromandel Peninsula were without power, with 2793 properties affected.
It includes entire townships waking to no electricity.
The widespread power cuts were across Manawatū and Horowhenua and in Karamea, Little Wanganui and Karamea Bluff, north of Westport.
Electra, which services the Kāpiti and Horowhenua regions, said crews had to be stood down for safety reasons overnight, as wild weather hit.
Among those affected last night were up to 715 customers in Shannon. Another 262 customers had their electricity restored, Electra said.
“Crews are now back on site working to remove trees from powerlines, repair downed lines and restore power where possible,” a statement said.
Locals affected by power outages may be in for a long wait, however, with exact restoration times not yet clear.
“Due to the severity of the situation, we are still unable to provide estimated restoration times.
“Please be assured our teams are doing everything they can to resolve issues and restore power where possible.”
In Foxton and Foxton Beach, just over 3600 customers experienced a power outage from about 10pm yesterday.
Electra said staff that were on holiday have been called in.
“While our emergency fault crews responded overnight, the scale of the outage means we are operating at limited capacity and have called in additional support from crews currently on holiday.”
Tuesday's emojicast:
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) December 29, 2025
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Members of the public are also urged to report anything unusual to authorities – including sparks, arcing or loud bangs from powerlines.
State Highway 57 was closed between Tane Rd and Opiki Rd after fallen trees blocked the road.
Motorists were told to delay their journey or use an alternate route.
Around 9.15am motorists were asked to avoid the road between Shannon and Tokomaru due to a truck roll-over.
A police spokesperson said the section of highway from Shannon to Tokomaru, east of Foxton, was now closed due to crash.
The accident happened just north of Shannon.
The driver was not injured.
“We urge motorists to not travel unless absolutely necessary. Anyone who has to drive, should take extreme care,” said the spokesperson.
At the top of the South Island, drivers are being warned to watch for debris across SH6.
Festival-goers across the North Island experienced a muddy night as torrential rain drenched campsites, and, while conditions are easing, some areas aren’t in the clear yet.
An active low-pressure system hit the North Island yesterday and continues to wreak havoc as its associated frontal rain band and strong easterly flow move south today, MetService said.
Festival-goers in Gisborne at Rhythm and Vines, decked out in ponchos and gumboots, woke up to drenched beds and muddy bogs.
Some event-goers on social media were calling the event “Rhythm and Rain”.
MetService meteorologist David Miller told the Herald that rain would gradually ease across the North Island this morning before moving to the South Island.
He said the rain would be especially prominent in the eastern parts of the South Island.
Miller said the good news for those celebrating the lead-up to the new year outdoors was that many of the severe weather watches and warnings were likely to expire in the morning.
“I do want to emphasise that even though the rain is going to be easing for most of the North Island, it’s still going to be rather unsettled,” Miller said.
“There’ll be lines of showers going through, especially for the northern parts of the North Island, but definitely that heaviest rain will be sort of clearing out,” he said.
Miller said Wellington would hang on to the stronger winds it had been experiencing.
@greer.upson gisborne bringing the weather for us ❤️ @Rhythm & Vines #rnv #rhythmandvines #festival #nz #fyp
♬ Beaumont - BEAUMONT
Miller said the eastern areas of the South Island are in for a day of heavier falls.
The heaviest falls are forecast to hit this morning through to the afternoon for Marlborough and North Canterbury.
Further south into Southland and Central Otago, rain is likely to be minor, with drizzle or occasional showers in eastern Otago, he said.
“A little bit of a mixed bag for the South Island areas, depending on where you are,” Miller said.
This comes after a day of wild weather that battered much of the North Island.
Music festivals were disrupted, dozens of power outages hit parts of Auckland and trees and roofs were ripped away by severe 120km/h winds.
Most of the North Island weather alerts are set to expire today, while parts of the south will be hit by watches and warnings, impacting travel to and from major holiday and festival hotspots.
Gisborne/Tairāwhiti was under an orange heavy rain warning that expired at 3am this morning.
Bay of Plenty, about and east of Rotorua and Hawke’s Bay, were also under an orange heavy rain warning until the early hours today.
An orange strong wind warning, which signals the threat of winds gusting up 120km/h, is also in place for several regions.
Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and the districts of Buller, Grey and Westland north of Mt Cook are under the warning until later this afternoon.
In Nelson, residents are waking up to damage to properties and vehicles after winds battered the region overnight, bringing down trees and cutting power.
MetService has extended a strong wind warning to 6pm today – with winds gusting up to 120km/h in exposed places.
A camper at the Maitai Valley Camp says there’s widespread carnage with trees down, and vehicles and buildings damaged.
“Holy cow, that was the worst wind I’ve ever been in,” says Christchurch camper Warwick Neal.
He says their newly purchased caravan is okay, but the building he and his wife, Megan, moved next to last night was lifted off its foundations.
“Thankfully, it sheltered us. The verandah blew off and sailed over the top of us and smashed into a car next to us.”
Manawatū, Horowhenua, and the Kāpiti Coast are also under the same wind warning until 2pm.
The Tararua District and Wairarapa are under a heavy rain watch until 3pm this afternoon, while the Kaikōura Coast remains under the watch until 9pm.
Wellington is under a strong wind watch until 9pm tonight.
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