Intense gales hitting velocities of up to 155km/h (96mph) have left nearly 90,000 households lacking electricity and led officials to cancel over 100 aircraft departures, as reported by domestic outlets.
The gales are influencing the entire southern region and southern parts of the northern region, as stated by the national weather agency.
Officials in New Zealand have released uncommon high-level wind alerts - the most severe warning - in core zones such as Wellington and Canterbury.
People have been encouraged to remain inside, refrain from journeys, and get ready for additional power and communication outages.
Widespread Damage and Crisis Measures
This outage seems to be impacting households predominantly in the southern region, although officials say that energy was being gradually reinstated.
Domestic outlets have indicated that in certain areas roofs have been ripped off houses, and power lines and trees have been toppled by the gusts.
Within the capital, a man was killed after being impacted by a falling limb at a well-known hiking path on earlier this week.
Meanwhile in Wellington, a woman was blown onto moving cars on a thoroughfare by a powerful blast, in a event that was filmed in a widely shared car camera footage.
Air travel to and from the city have been cancelled because of the weather, and some roads and libraries are also closed.
Simultaneously Canterbury officials have announced a state of emergency, to support emergency management operations.
Work Stoppages Amid Harsh Conditions
The wild winds on Thursday coincide with tens of thousands of educators, medical professionals and government employees take part in what has been described as a "major walkout", demanding higher wages and enhanced employment terms.
Yet the extreme weather has forced them to change certain arrangements, with several external protests shifted to interior venues or abandoned.
Similar gusts are affecting Australia, bringing a period of extreme heat to the nation's interior regions.
Officials have declared burning restrictions for apprehension regarding wildfires.
