WELLINGTON (REUTERS) - Gale-force winds battered New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, leaving thousands without power on Wednesday (April 11) morning as the authorities urged residents to stay home. Gusts as high as 146 kilometres (90 miles) an hour tore down trees and power lines overnight, leaving more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power and likely taking days to fix, according to electricity distributor Vector. Air New Zealand warned that flights were likely to be affected, though most flights in and out of Auckland were running on Wednesday according to the national carrier’s website. "Air New Zealand is experiencing significant disruption across its network today as a result of weather conditions and the temporary closure of the Auckland Airport runway last night, which required a number of flights to divert to other ports,"the company said in an e-mailed statement. Roads were littered with debris and some traffic lights were out, prompting authorities to request the more than 1.3 million residents of New Zealand's commercial capital to stay home if possible. "There is damage across Auckland this morning after last night's severe storm ... please only travel if you have to," Auckland City Council said on its website. The storm, which was expected to continue for the next few days, started pummelling the country on Tuesday, bringing unseasonable autumn snow to parts of the South Island and small tornadoes in the central north island. Severe gales are expected in Marlborough Sounds, Wellington, Kāpiti Coast and Horowhenua, Taranaki, Waikato, Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, but warnings for in Westland and Buller have been lifted.
Thousands are left without power and flights are grounded after a powerful storm hits Auckland, New Zealand.