- A large weather system is delivering heavy rain and strong winds to the upper North Island.
- About 5000 properties in Northland are without power and repairs may take days, Northpower says.
- There are many outages in Auckland and Waikato.
- Cellphone towers have been damaged in Northland, landlines are still working.
- Rain is forecast to spread into the South Island on Thursday.
- Warnings are in place for motorists using Auckland's Harbour Bridge due to strong wind gusts.
- Ferry services have been suspended and flights cancelled.
Some parts of storm-hit Northland may be cut off for days as an intense weather system moves down the country, impacting other regions in time for the Easter holiday.
Cyclone Tam has been downgraded but is continuing to cause problems, with heavy winds and sustained rain bringing down trees, closing roads and cutting power to thousands of homes in the upper North Island today.
The wild weather comes as people prepare for the Easter holiday, when traditionally many travel.
Northland has been the hardest-hit so far, battered by wind gusts of up to 150km/h, cutting power to great swathes of the region.
Northpower chief executive Andrew McLeod told RNZ's Checkpoint programme late this afternoon there has been extensive damage to the network, with 5000 households still without power. About 20% of its long lines had been affected, with some "pretty big damage".
"Trees have gone through lines... we will need to get trucks and cranes out there."
Towns such as Tairua, Whitianga and Coromandel township have no safe state highway access.
The NZ Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi advised road users not to drive into flooded areas. While the road is currently passable for four-wheel drive vehicles, the flooding will worsen as the evening progresses, with high tide at 11.30pm, and both sides of the road were expected to fully close later tonight.
There were also reports of surface flooding on State Highway 2 at Waikino in the Karangahake Gorge. Road users were advised to delay driving and check NZTA's Journey Planner before travel for the latest updates.
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris told RNZ there was a risk of thunderstorms and perhaps tornadoes.
"It's already started pouring down around Coromandel, with plenty of rain still to fall. Their warning runs through to 3pm tomorrow, so plenty of wind and rain around this evening.
"If people were looking to head there for their long weekend, they really do need to be taking it easy, because it is a place where slips do occur quite readily."
Asked to pick a place to spend the Easter weekend unbothered by weather, Ferris nominated Central Otago - where he grew up.
In Auckland, fallen trees have closed roads, while flights and ferries have been cancelled today due to the fierce winds.
There were nearly 300 storm-related calls to Auckland Council in less than 24 hours from late Wednesday.
Ferris told RNZ Auckland Airport had recorded an 80kmh gust today - the strongest northeasterly since 2017.
"While that doesn't sound like much, it does show we don't often get these northeasterly events."
Meanwhile, a clean-up was under way in the battered tourist town of Paihia in the Bay of Islands.
In Waikato, multiple outages were reported by Waipa Networks this afternoon. Conditions were making it much harder for repair teams to complete their work and some outages may take longer than usual to repair, it said. Hamilton Airport has not been affected.
One New Zealand is opening its satellite service to more customers north of Hamilton, as the severe weather damages cell sites in the region, limiting mobile services.
Motorists travelling between Tauranga and Hamilton were asked to alternative routes where possible, as the road was likely to closed for some time.
Heavy rain for Tasman
At the top of the South Island, the Tasman District Council said it was expecting moderate flooding in parts of the district over Easter.
MetService has issued an orange heavy rain warning for Tasman north-west of Motueka, from 6pm tonight until midnight on Saturday.
Council principal hydrologist Martin Doyle says between 250mm to 350mm of rain was expected about the ranges, mainly from Friday night, with thunderstorms possible. Further periods of heavy rain were forecast for Sunday.
Streams and rivers may rise rapidly. Surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions were possible.
Transport disrupted
Air New Zealand cancelled 21 flights today due to the bad weather, and others including flights to Dunedin from Auckland and Wellington were delayed.
Chief operating officer Alex Marren said conditions were being monitored with a view to keeping customers and crew safe while minimising disruption.
"Customers travelling today are encouraged to check the Air New Zealand app or the arrivals and departures page on our website for the latest updates.
"We also recommend customers ensure their contact details are up to date in their bookings so we can reach them with any important updates."
In Auckland, a number of ferry services were suspended due to high winds, with some cancelled for today.
