Powerful winds attaining velocities of as high as 155km/h (96mph) have resulted in around 90,000 homes experiencing outages and led agencies to cancel over 100 air travel services, based on local media.
These gusts are impacting the complete South Island and lower areas of the North Island, as stated by the national weather agency.
New Zealand authorities have issued rare red wind warnings - the most severe warning - in core zones encompassing Canterbury and Wellington.
Residents have been urged to remain inside, stay off roads, and make arrangements for more power and communication outages.
Broad Damage and Emergency Response
The power cut seems to be impacting residences mostly in the southern region, although agencies say that energy was being slowly brought back.
Local media have reported that in certain areas roofs have been ripped off houses, while trees and electricity poles have been brought down by the gusts.
Within the capital, a man was lost his life after being hit by a falling limb at a popular trail walking spot on Tuesday.
Meanwhile in Wellington, a woman was blown onto approaching vehicles on a road by a powerful blast, in a event that was recorded in a widely shared car camera footage.
Aircraft services in and out of the urban area have been cancelled due to the gusts, whereas some roads and libraries are shut down.
Meanwhile authorities in Canterbury have declared a state of emergency, to support recovery activities.
Strike Action Amid Extreme Weather
These intense gusts on today occur while tens of thousands of teachers, doctors and other public workers take part in what has been described as a "significant labor action", calling for improved salaries and workplace environments.
But the extreme weather has compelled them to alter some of their plans, with various open-air gatherings moved indoors or cancelled.
Comparable winds are impacting Australia, bringing a period of extreme heat to the nation's interior regions.
Authorities have declared fire bans for apprehension regarding bushfires.
