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New Zealand's capital Wellington was cleaning up Friday after one of the worst storms in decades smashed roads, cut air links and left thousands of homes without power, while other parts of the country were dealing with snow and floods.
Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye issued a statement warning that the extreme weather that had caused disruption over much of the country over the last two days may not be completely over.
"No states of emergency have been declared anywhere in the country at this stage, but people should heed advice from local authorities and civil defence emergency management groups," Kaye said.
"This morning in the south difficult conditions caused by high rainfall earlier in the week have been compounded by heavy snow falls impacting farmers and town communities alike. There are extensive road closures, some schools are closed and emergency services and civil defense working hard," she said in the statement.
Further north in the South Island, the cold conditions, high winds and big seas had disrupted transport networks, the ferry services between the North and South islands and the airlines.
"Wellington has been hit by very high winds overnight with many homes losing power, trees down, roads closed and rail and bus networks disrupted. Some homes in exposed areas of the city have lost roofs and the south coast has been battered by the combined effect of high winds and very big seas," said Kaye.
"Emergency services, civil defence staff and council crews have worked extremely hard in difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions to restore services."
The extent of the damage in many areas was so bad that it might take "some time" for normal services to be resumed.
She advised members of the public in the worst-hit areas to stay home if they could and to check on their neighbors.
Radio New Zealand reported Friday that winds had been up to 200 km per hour in parts of Wellington.
The Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office said more than 25,000 electricity users in the region had suffered blackout and the storm had knocked out the city's commuter rail network.
Wellington Airport reopened Friday afternoon after closing late Thursday, while many flights to and from the South Island airports of Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and Queenstown had been cancelled.
