Powerful gales attaining speeds of as high as 155km/h (96mph) have caused around 90,000 homes experiencing outages and led officials to halt over 100 air travel services, according to regional news sources.
These gusts are affecting the whole southern region and southern parts of the North Island, as stated by the country's meteorological service.
The nation's agencies have released rare high-level wind alerts - the most severe warning - in core zones encompassing these major districts.
Residents have been urged to stay indoors, avoid travel, and make arrangements for more power and communication outages.
Extensive Impact and Crisis Measures
This outage seems to be impacting homes predominantly in the South Island, though authorities report that power was being slowly brought back.
Local media have reported that in certain areas structures have suffered roof damage, while utility poles and vegetation have been brought down by the gales.
Within the capital, a person was lost his life after being hit by a tree branch at a well-known hiking path on earlier this week.
Also in the capital, a woman was blown onto moving cars on a thoroughfare by a strong gust of wind, in a moment that was recorded in a widely shared car camera footage.
Aircraft services to and from the city have been halted because of the weather, and some roads and libraries are also closed.
At the same time authorities in Canterbury have issued a emergency situation, to support disaster response efforts.
Strike Action Amid Harsh Weather
The wild winds on this day come as many of school staff, physicians and civil servants are participating in what has been called a "significant labor action", requesting higher wages and enhanced employment terms.
But the severe conditions has pressured them to alter certain arrangements, with various open-air gatherings relocated inside or abandoned.
Comparable winds are impacting Australia, ushering in a high-temperature event to the country's outback.
Authorities have declared fire bans for apprehension regarding forest fires.