High wind cut electricity to about 500 homes in Becks, Ettrick and Millers Flat for several hours yesterday and wind gusts may also have been a factor in a motor vehicle crash near Omakau early in the morning.
Trees on lines and a broken power pole caused power cuts for about 100 households at Becks and about 400 in Millers Flat and Ettrick, from mid-afternoon.
By 8pm, power had been restored to half of those homes and the rest would be restored by later in the evening, a Delta spokesman said.
Sergeant Andy Reed, of Alexandra, said investigations were continuing into the cause of a van crash near Omakau at 1.15am yesterday.
It was blowing strongly at the time and the vehicle had rolled on to its side on a corner at the crest of a hill.
"The wind may well have been a factor, as the driver is reasonably familiar with the road, and alcohol and speed were not factors," Sgt Reed said.
The driver, a 47-year-old Becks man who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, received minor injuries. The van was a write-off.
Wind-blown debris from willow trees covered a 500m stretch of Racecourse Rd at Omakau yesterday afternoon and had to be cleared before it caused an accident, he said.
"It was blowing a real gale and brought down some sizeable branches. If you hit them in a car, you'd probably lose control of your vehicle," Sgt Reed said.
