Power outages caused by severe gales sweeping up the country have reached the lower North Island as thousands of households prepare to spend the night without electricity.
More than 1,000 homes have lost power in the Wellington region in the past two hours because of stormy weather.
The worst-hit area is Johnsonville, where at least 900 homes are without power.
Power is also out in parts of Plimmerton and Makara.
The lines company Powerco has been working to restore electricity to about 5500 properties in Wairarapa, Tararua and Manawatu.
The outage is the latest in a string of power cuts as severe north westerly gales sweep up the country.
All domestic flights in and out of Wellington Airport have been cancelled.
A spokesperson says the bad weather that led to sporadic cancellations throughout the day, has deteriorated.
Travellers on five flights to Wellington from Auckland Airport will have to wait until at least 7.30 Thursday morning for another connection.
Two flights to New Plymouth and one to Masterton from Auckland Airport have also been cancelled.
A decision on international flights at Wellington Airport is yet to be made.
The Airport says passengers should check with their airlines about alternative travel plans in on Thursday morning.
It says people can also check the status of their flights on the Airport's website.
