Intense winds reaching velocities of approximately 155km/h (96mph) have caused around 90,000 homes experiencing outages and forced agencies to cancel in excess of 100 air travel services, as reported by domestic outlets.
The winds are impacting the whole southern region and lower areas of the North Island, per the weather forecasting body.
The nation's agencies have issued uncommon high-level wind alerts - the most severe warning - in core zones encompassing Canterbury and Wellington.
Locals have been advised to stay indoors, refrain from journeys, and make arrangements for further power and communication outages.
Widespread Impact and Crisis Response
The electricity loss seems to be impacting residences mainly in the southern region, although agencies report that the electricity supply was being slowly brought back.
Local media have reported that in certain areas homes have lost their roofs, while utility poles and vegetation have been knocked down by the gales.
Across Wellington, a person was killed after being struck by a tree branch at a popular trail walking spot on Tuesday.
Additionally in the city, a female was swept into oncoming traffic on a street by a strong gust of wind, in a incident that was filmed in a widely shared car camera footage.
Air travel entering and leaving the city have been suspended because of the weather, whereas various routes and public facilities are not operating.
Meanwhile authorities in Canterbury have announced a state of emergency, to assist disaster response efforts.
Work Stoppages Amid Harsh Weather
These intense gusts on Thursday come as many of teachers, doctors and other public workers are participating in what has been termed a "significant labor action", requesting better pay and working conditions.
But the severe conditions has pressured them to change various scheduled activities, with some outdoor rallies shifted to interior venues or cancelled.
Similar gusts are impacting the nearby nation, causing a high-temperature event to the country's outback.
Agencies have issued fire bans for apprehension regarding bushfires.
