The West Coast is cut off due to road closures. Photo: Supplied / NZ Transport Agency
The West Coast is cut off following closures on State Highways leading into the region amid the severe weather system.
Claire Brown, manager for West Coast Emergency Management, said the Arthur's, Lewis and Haast passes have all been closed, as well as State Highway 6 between Murchison and Kawatiri Junction.
"So at this point, the West Coast is cut off," Brown said.
"If anyone is intending on travelling through into other parts of the South Island, it's really important that they check the conditions of the road on the NZTA website before they leave home."
Brown said the mixture of flooding, slips and debris on the roads were among the reasons for the closures.
She said the area experienced intermittent power outages in pockets across the region during the course of Thursday, with a widespread power outage affecting Greymouth and Westport earlier Thursday morning, but power has resumed to a majority of households across the region.
"There's been some improvement with that over the course of the day, which is really positive, but we're encouraging people to be prepared if there are continued or longer power outages."
She said the weather conditions was expected to improve in the afternoon and in the evening, but the area was still experiencing bursts of heavy rain and severe gusts.
"We are continuing to encourage people to take caution if they're out and about and just to think carefully about the need to travel," Brown said.
"We've still got quite a number of hours to go until we're out of the woods."
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