Buller District power cut: Up to 10,000 in dark amid storm

Nearly ten thousand people are without power in Buller, after the electricity to the entire district was cut as a storm lashes the South Island. Photo / File, Michael Craig

Nearly 10,000 people are without power in Buller, after the electricity to the district was cut as a storm lashes the South Island.

Buller Electricity Limited said the main line into Westport was off: “This means [the] whole district is without power”.

The company said its staff were on standby and warned people to treat all wires as live.

Much of the southern part of the country is getting snow, and forecast strong winds of up to 130km/h.

A MetService spokesman said a deep low with embedded fronts was forecast to move eastwards, just to the south of the South Island, tonight, followed by a strong and cold southwest change bringing periods of heavy rain, strong winds and snow to low levels.

About 9730 people live in the Buller District, according to Statistics NZ population data.