A state of local emergency remains in place in Southland and Clutha almost two days after southern New Zealand was smashed by severe winds that downed powerlines and trees, ripped roofs from homes, cut water supplies and cancelled more than 100 flights.
Canterbury has since lifted its local state of emergency, but the orders remain in place for Southland and Clutha after all three areas were pummelled by winds up to 150km/h, prompting MetService to issue life-threatening red alert warnings.
Further north, Kaikōura remains in a state of local emergency amid fears fires that destroyed five homes north of the township on Wednesday could reignite.
Almost 900 properties across Wairarapa, Tararua, Manawatū and Taranaki are also still without power, according to PowerCo.
In the deep south, communities have been isolated with roads closed or impassable, and no power, water or telecommunications.
More than 17,000 households were still without power in Southland and South Otago this morning, and PowerNet chief executive Paul Blue said the outage may continue for some until next Friday.
Poles had been broken and trees and other debris had come down on lines, Blue said.
“In some cases the wind gusts were so strong they simply blew our poles and lines over.”
However, in good news the power was back on in Te Anau and Winton this morning.
In Tuatapere and Ohai there’s no drinking water as water treatment plants haven’t worked since the storm, Southland District Council posted on its website last night.
A water truck is opposite the Four Square store in Tuatapere and on the main street in Ohai but water from the trucks must be boiled before use, the council said.
“If you have no power use a gas stove or any camping equipment suitable for boiling water. Nightcaps, Lumsden and Otautau still have water so residents of nearby towns can source water from there.”
Residents across the district are being urged to conserve water, including by not flushing toilets “if you can avoid it” because of water treatment plants being offline, under generators, or running below peak.
In Gore, power outages had stopped pump operations used to dilute water from the East Gore Water Treatment Plant and while nitrate levels remained within safe-to-drink limits the council was increasing lab sampling, Gore District Council wrote on Facebook this morning.
“As a precaution we advise residents to fill containers. If you are pregnant or have concerns, you could switch to another source of drinking water. Council has a water trailer at Eccles St playground as a supplementary supply.”
Southlanders were also being asked to conserve petrol, with limited fuel supplies across the region and none in Te Anau, RNZ reported this morning.
Emergency Management Southland later told RNZ there was no fuel shortage in the region, but there were issues having fuel delivered.
The power outage had made it difficult to get the pumps going in certain areas, they told RNZ.
State Highway 94 to Milford Sound and SH6’s Haast Pass between Makarora and Haast, are closed because of slips, according to the NZ Transport Agency.
Inland Route 70 southwest of Kaikōura and SH7’s Lewis Pass between Hanmer Springs and Springs Junction are also closed because of fallen trees and flooding respectively, NZTA said.
Local Southland roads closed because of weather damage are listed on the council websites www.southlanddc.govt.nz and www.icc.govt.nz
Invercargill City Council also warned Invercargill and Bluff residents all parks, reserves and sports fields in both settlements are closed until further notice because of damage and the danger more trees and debris could fall even in lighter winds.
In Clutha, efforts were being made to get water treatment plants back running, Clutha District Council wrote last night.
“We are working to get the Ōwaka water treatment plant connected to a generator, in order to get the plant running and producing water.”
It was also organising for water tanks to be put in Waihola and Clinton today so residents could fill their own containers with clean drinking water, the council wrote.
Power was back on at the Milton water treatment plant and wastewater plant, but water may be discoloured when it starts coming through, it said.
“[Meanwhile] we are working towards either getting power restored or having generators connected to all of our affected rural water treatment plants.”
Nearly 90 cell towers were also offline in the south, cutting internet and phone services, RNZ reported.
Back-up generators were being brought to Southland from Christchurch to help get cellphone towers back online, the state broadcaster reported this morning.
In Greymouth and neighbouring settlements, where water levels were left critically low after its water treatment plant went offline, a boil water notice remains and residents are being asked to conserve water.
Good morning 🌅
— MetService (@MetService) October 24, 2025
A good deal of sunshine is forecast for the eastern half of the country today after some morning cloud lifts. Elsewhere on the western half, as well as Southland, Clutha and later in Otago, it will be a bit cloudier with showers at times. These showers will be… pic.twitter.com/HQ4ye3w2zf
Meanwhile, mostly settled weather is expected across the country this weekend before severe weather returns on Labour Day.
“A good deal of sunshine is forecast for the eastern half of the country today after some morning cloud lifts,” MetService wrote on X this morning.
“Elsewhere on the western half, as well as Southland, Clutha and later in Otago, it will be a bit cloudier with showers at times.
“These showers will be more frequent for the western South Island, turning to rain in Fiordland through the morning.”
Snow showers may accumulate to 1cm to 3cm on Milford Rd (SH94) above 800m until midday, it wrote.
Who's ready for a long weekend? 🙋♀️🙋♂️
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) October 24, 2025
Best to stay on top of the forecast with @MetService as more active weather is likely Mon & Tue.
Unusually warm 🟠 & cold 🔵 air will battle, resulting in rain & wind.
Also need to watch for a late season cold snap & low elevation snow. 😲 pic.twitter.com/0BbcbpepC6
However, the weather was forecast to turn on Monday, MetService forecaster Clare O’Connor said.
“There will be some heavier rain and stronger winds coming through from the northwest and it will mainly affect western and central parts of the country.
“We are looking at some more severe weather, not like [Thursday], but something else.
“[There will be] some potential watches and warnings being issued.”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.