Severe gales attaining velocities of as high as 155km/h (96mph) have caused approximately 90,000 households without power and led authorities to cancel in excess of 100 flights, according to local media.
The winds are impacting the entire southern region and southern sections of the northern region, per the country's meteorological service.
The nation's agencies have released infrequent severe gust advisories - the highest alert level - in key areas encompassing Wellington and Canterbury.
Locals have been urged to avoid going outside, avoid travel, and prepare for further power and communication outages.
Widespread Destruction and Crisis Measures
This outage is primarily influencing households mainly in the South Island, although authorities state that the electricity supply was being slowly brought back.
Regional news have reported that in some places homes have lost their roofs, and trees and electricity poles have been brought down by the winds.
Across Wellington, a person was lost his life after being impacted by a wooden fragment at a well-known hiking path on Tuesday.
Also in the capital, a female was swept into oncoming traffic on a thoroughfare by a strong gust of wind, in a event that was filmed in a widely shared car camera footage.
Aircraft services in and out of the city have been cancelled because of the winds, and various routes and public facilities are not operating.
At the same time authorities in Canterbury have declared a crisis declaration, to facilitate emergency management operations.
Labor Protests Amid Severe Conditions
These intense gusts on Thursday come as numerous of school staff, physicians and civil servants take part in what has been termed a "significant labor action", demanding better pay and working conditions.
Yet the extreme weather has compelled them to modify some of their plans, with some outdoor rallies relocated inside or abandoned.
Similar gusts are also sweeping the nearby nation, ushering in a heatwave to the remote areas.
Authorities have declared fire bans for concern about forest fires.
