Your weather: Thousands without power in Taranaki, Coromandel

Thousands of households and businesses in the Coromandel and Taranaki are without power this morning after strong winds overnight.

Winds gusted up to 120km/h through Coromandel last night, and South Taranaki was hit by a tornado yesterday morning, bringing down trees, power lines and damaging homes.

Powerco, which distributes power through Taranaki and Thames/Coromandel, said about 8200 customers were without power.

More than half those are at Tairua where a fault on the feeder line to the town's substation has left 4600 without supply.

The power outage has also affected water supply in Tairua and Pauanui.

In Tairua, the water treatment plant was out of power, a Thames-Coromandel District Council spokeswoman said.

"While we are running as much of the network on generators as we can and we have water in the reservoirs we ask that all residents and visitors conserve water as best they can until power is restored."

In Tangiteroria Lane, Pauanui, the outage has also adversely affected the water pressure.

Network operations manager Phil Marsh said a "concerted effort" was under way to repair damage to poles and lines in Taranaki.

"Most of that happened as a result of strong winds and lightning early yesterday morning. We made significant progress getting people back on supply yesterday and by late afternoon had reduced the numbers without power from 12,000 to 3000.

"But winds overnight caused further damage and 3400 are still off line. There is a tremendous amount of repair work to be done in the Rahotu area where there are multiple reports of poles and lines down."

Trees were brought down when a tornado hit Rahotu, Taranaki, yesterday. Photo / Mel Sorrensen

He said he understood customer frustration and asked for patience as field crews went about their work.

"It will not be a quick fix given the extent of the damage but we are doing everything we can to restore power to as many people as we can today," he said.

The Taranaki twister also damaged eight houses in Rahotu, three severely.

The strong winds have subsided for the area but a heavy rain warning is in force to 8pm tonight.

During that time up to 100mm of rain may fall.

Welcome back... only 52 more sleeps to go! 🙌 #AreYouReady

Posted by Mt Ruapehu, Whakapapa & Tūroa Ski Areas on Tuesday, 10 April 2018

Another twister swept through National Park yesterday morning, where it ripped off roofs, downed trees and damaged houses.

Power has now been restored, after wild weather cut the region off the grid.

However, police and fire crews remained on the ground in the central North Island assisting those affected by heavy rain and winds.

An assessment by the Urban Search and Rescue Team last night reported seven red sticker properties, six yellow, one green, and 11 uninhabitable.

Ruapehu District Council's building team was completing further assessments this morning.

Ruapehu Civil Defence would be accompanying people on visits to 14 properties with restricted access.

A cordon was still in place and an action plan being developed with the waste contractor for the clean-up and removal of debris.

The welfare centre is still available in the National Park School hall for those in need of assistance.

Chief executive Clive Manley said there was about 1cm of snow overnight and it was currently snowing lightly.

Areas at higher altitudes across the North Island have frosty conditions and snow has fallen over the Central Plateau overnight.

The Desert Rd from Rangipo to Waiouru was closed overnight due to snow and ice but has now reopened.

SH1 DESERT ROAD CLOSED - SNOW/ICE - 9:30AM FINAL UPDATE
This road is now OPEN. Thank you for your patience, and drive safely. ^HJ
https://t.co/lMmw0Ymsba

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Central North Island (@WakaKotahiCNI) April 10, 2018