Around 200 flights cancelled, winds hammer Wellington region

Around 200 flights have been cancelled at Wellington Airport today as fierce southerlies batter the capital – with most morning, afternoon and evening services grounded and hundreds of travellers left scrambling for alternatives.

Wellington Airport confirmed the cancellation toll, saying the near 100km/h winds were forecast to ease tomorrow, which should allow flights to resume.

"Passengers should check with their airlines for information on specific flights," a spokesperson said.

Both Air New Zealand and Jetstar services have been affected, with gusts exceeding 50 knots making operations at Wellington Airport near-impossible, although some aircraft did attempt to land, with 1News seeing footage showing several planes battling the southerly winds on approach.

Homes damaged, flights cancelled as gales batter parts the North Island - Watch on TVNZ+

MetService has issued an orange-level strong wind warning for Wellington, coastal Marlborough and Taranaki, as southerlies tear through Cook Strait.

'It's ruining the world tour'

Sharm Kanji was supposed to be on his way to Johannesburg today in the first leg of a world trip taking him through Africa and on to Europe.

Instead, he was in the terminal weighing up a one-way rental car to Auckland.

"We're struggling... it's ruining the world tour."

Another traveller, Dave, was up at 3.30am to catch a flight back to Auckland after a business trip, finding out around 6am it wasn't happening. He too was planning to drive.

"These things happen. We can't be upset at other people for the weather. We just have to make plans and keep moving."

Rachel, visiting from Australia, was meant to fly to Rotorua this morning. She's now rebooked for tomorrow and is scrambling to sort accommodation in the meantime.

"That's windy Wellington," she said. "It just means my time is a bit shortened."

Fallen tree blocks SH2 near Kaitoke

Strong winds also caused disruptions across the wider Wellington region, bringing down trees, causing surface flooding and forcing the closure of several roads.

A tree fell across State Highway 2 near Kaitoke this afternoon, blocking traffic over the Remutaka Hill.

“Tree just came down on the road heading up the Remutakas – just past the Kaitoke Park turn-off,” one Facebook user said.

Multiple roads across South Wairarapa were also closed, with the council warning residents the rain had “well and truly set in” and was not expected to ease until tomorrow morning.

Hutt City Council said it was seeing "impacts across the city" as heavy rain continued, particularly in the eastern hills including Naenae, Epuni, Waiwhetū and Wainuiomata.

"The Wainuiomata River and Waiwhetū Stream are currently elevated following this afternoon's high tide," the council said.

"We are also aware of surface flooding at the corner of Whitehall Rd and Wellington Rd in Wainuiomata. The Port Rd and Barnes St intersection remains closed due to flooding."

It added that a slip in Lowry Bay was affecting two properties, while a second slip on the Wainuiomata side of Wainui Hill Rd was likely to cause travel days.

"The ground is saturated and the risk of slips remains high. Please stay alert for signs of slips and avoid unstable areas," it said.

Heavy rain had also forced untreated wastewater to discharge from the short outfall pipe at Moa Point into Tarakena Bay.

“Signs are in place along the coastline to alert water users of areas which may be impacted by this event,” Wellington Water said.

Thousands without power, possibly for days

More than 4000 properties were without power across the region due to severe winds, according to Wellington Electricity.

Chief executive Greg Skelton said further outages were likely as winds strengthened throughout the evening, urging customers to "be prepared" for more power cuts.

“Our first priority will be to attend faults which present a danger to public safety before prioritising the restoration of power to the largest affected areas,” he said.

“In some cases, we will not be able to begin restoration work until wind speeds reduce enough for crews to safely work from poles and elevated platforms.”

Skelton said it could take two or three days "and even into mid next week" to restore power to all customers.