While the wild weather has eased around much of the country, some regional centres are still recovering from road closures, slips and flooding.
File photo: A heavy fall of snow on the Crown Range Road, connecting Queenstown and Wanaka, on Monday. The road remains closed between the Eastburn Gates and Cardrona. Photo: Queenstown Lakes District Council / Downer
After one of the biggest snowfalls in more than a generation, the Crown Range will remain closed between Cardrona and Eastburn Road overnight.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council said crews were clearing the snow and an avalanche assessment had been completed.
The council said there would be a further update on Wednesday morning but the road was likely to remain closed into the day.
MetService has also put in place a road snowfall warning for Milford Rd with 25-35cm of snow expected above 700m between 10pm tonight and midday tomorrow.
Coastal Southland and Fiordland areas, including Stewart Island, were also expected to be hit by severe winds overnight with 120km/h gusts posing a risk to powerlines and unsecured structures.
Buller stands down emergency response
After high seas sent water surging into some Buller properties on Monday, the town has stood down its emergency response as the severe weather over the region eases.
An Emergency Operation Centre was set up yesterday to help manage coastal inundation after huge swells washed rocks, debris and sea foam onto properties.
Mayor Jamie Cleine said tides and high winds over the past 24 hours had caused no further issues.
Cleine said all affected residents along the northern Buller coastline had been visited by Civil Defence staff and offered access to a flood recovery team.
He said the clean-up would now be left to individual households.
Contractors will continue to monitor and clear State Highway 67 as needed.
A small car was deposited at this person's Buller property after high seas on Monday. Photo: Supplied / Buller District Emergency Management
Slip leads to Taranaki road closure
Slips, drop outs and flooding has occurred in a number of spots during this week's wild weather in Taranaki.
This evening, State Highway 3 through Taranaki's Awakino Gorge was reduced to one lane due to a dropout where the edge of the road has crumbled down a bank.
Waka Kotahi said the dropout was near the Awakino River and had affected the guard rail on the roadside following severe weather in the region,
A Waka Kotahi spokeswoman said traffic management was in place with a geotechnical assessment to take place as soon as possible.
Crews were closely monitoring Taranaki's roading network and motorists were urged to take extra care.
On the East Coast, a strong wind warning is in place for Hawke's Bay south of Hastings and Wairarapa north of Featherston with MetService warning gusts could reach up to 120 km/h overnight and tomorrow morning.
