Severe gales reaching velocities of as high as 155km/h (96mph) have resulted in around 90,000 properties lacking electricity and forced officials to call off more than 100 aircraft departures, according to local media.
The gales are impacting the entire southern region and lower areas of the northern region, per the weather forecasting body.
New Zealand authorities have issued infrequent high-level wind alerts - the most severe warning - in central regions including these major districts.
Locals have been encouraged to avoid going outside, stay off roads, and get ready for more electricity and network failures.
Broad Damage and Crisis Measures
This outage is primarily influencing homes mostly in the South Island, while officials say that the electricity supply was being gradually reinstated.
Regional news have reported that in some places homes have lost their roofs, while trees and electricity poles have been brought down by the gusts.
In Wellington, a individual was lost his life after being impacted by a tree branch at a frequent walking route on earlier this week.
Meanwhile in Wellington, a female was swept into approaching vehicles on a thoroughfare by a intensive burst, in a event that was captured in a popular vehicle recording.
Air travel in and out of the urban area have been cancelled as a result of the gusts, while certain highways and community centers are also closed.
Meanwhile authorities in Canterbury have declared a crisis declaration, to assist disaster response efforts.
Labor Protests During Severe Weather
These intense gusts on Thursday coincide with numerous of school staff, physicians and civil servants are engaged in what has been described as a "significant labor action", demanding better pay and working conditions.
However the extreme weather has forced them to alter certain arrangements, with several external protests moved indoors or cancelled.
Comparable winds are also sweeping the nearby nation, causing a heatwave to the remote areas.
Officials have issued fire bans for fear of forest fires.
