Severe gales hitting speeds of as high as 155km/h (96mph) have caused nearly 90,000 homes without power and forced agencies to call off over 100 aircraft departures, based on local media.
The gales are impacting the whole southern region and southern sections of the North Island, per the weather forecasting body.
Officials in New Zealand have issued rare red wind warnings - the top caution category - in central regions encompassing these major districts.
Locals have been advised to avoid going outside, avoid travel, and get ready for additional power and communication outages.
Broad Destruction and Emergency Response
The electricity loss appears to be affecting households predominantly in the southern region, though agencies state that power was being restored progressively.
Regional news have reported that in various locations homes have lost their roofs, whereas trees and electricity poles have been knocked down by the winds.
Across Wellington, a individual was killed after being impacted by a tree branch at a well-known hiking path on Tuesday.
Also in the capital, a woman was pushed toward approaching vehicles on a street by a intensive burst, in a event that was captured in a widely shared car camera footage.
Air travel to and from the urban area have been suspended due to the weather, whereas various routes and public facilities are not operating.
Simultaneously Canterbury officials have issued a state of emergency, to assist disaster response efforts.
Labor Protests Amid Severe Weather
These intense gusts on today occur while tens of thousands of teachers, doctors and other public workers are engaged in what has been called a "major walkout", calling for higher wages and enhanced employment terms.
However the extreme weather has compelled them to change some of their plans, with several external protests moved indoors or cancelled.
Similar gusts are impacting the neighboring country, causing a high-temperature event to the country's outback.
Agencies have announced burning restrictions for concern about wildfires.
