Severe gales hitting speeds of approximately 155km/h (96mph) have caused nearly 90,000 homes experiencing outages and led authorities to call off in excess of 100 air travel services, according to local media.
The gales are influencing the whole South Island and lower areas of the northern region, according to the country's meteorological service.
New Zealand authorities have announced rare high-level wind alerts - the most severe warning - in key areas encompassing Wellington and Canterbury.
Residents have been encouraged to stay indoors, refrain from journeys, and get ready for additional electricity and network failures.
Widespread Impact and Emergency Measures
This outage is primarily influencing households predominantly in the South Island, though officials report that the electricity supply was being slowly brought back.
Regional news have stated that in some places homes have lost their roofs, whereas power lines and trees have been brought down by the winds.
Across Wellington, a man was killed after being struck by a falling limb at a popular trail walking spot on earlier this week.
Additionally in the city, a female was blown onto oncoming traffic on a thoroughfare by a powerful blast, in a incident that was filmed in a popular vehicle recording.
Air travel in and out of the urban area have been suspended as a result of the gusts, whereas certain highways and community centers are not operating.
Simultaneously Canterbury officials have announced a emergency situation, to assist recovery activities.
Work Stoppages Amid Extreme Weather
The wild winds on Thursday occur while numerous of educators, medical professionals and government employees are participating in what has been called a "significant labor action", demanding better pay and working conditions.
But the intense climate has forced them to modify various scheduled activities, with several external protests shifted to interior venues or cancelled.
Similar gusts are also sweeping the neighboring country, bringing a heatwave to the remote areas.
Authorities have declared fire bans for apprehension regarding forest fires.
