Intense gusts hitting speeds of as high as 155km/h (96mph) have left around 90,000 households without power and forced officials to call off more than 100 air travel services, based on local media.
The gales are impacting the entire South Island and lower areas of the northern region, per the country's meteorological service.
New Zealand authorities have announced uncommon red wind warnings - the top caution category - in central regions including Wellington and Canterbury.
Residents have been encouraged to avoid going outside, stay off roads, and make arrangements for additional power and communication outages.
Broad Damage and Emergency Response
This outage seems to be impacting households predominantly in the South Island, while officials say that energy was being gradually reinstated.
Local media have stated that in some places roofs have been ripped off houses, whereas power lines and trees have been toppled by the winds.
In Wellington, a person was fatally injured after being hit by a falling limb at a well-known hiking path on earlier this week.
Also in the capital, a woman was blown onto oncoming traffic on a road by a powerful blast, in a event that was recorded in a widely shared car camera footage.
Flights in and out of the metropolis have been suspended because of the weather, and certain highways and community centers are also closed.
Meanwhile Canterbury officials have issued a emergency situation, to support disaster response efforts.
Work Stoppages Alongside Severe Conditions
These intense gusts on today occur while tens of thousands of educators, medical professionals and government employees are engaged in what has been called a "major walkout", demanding higher wages and enhanced employment terms.
But the severe conditions has forced them to modify certain arrangements, with several external protests shifted to interior venues or abandoned.
Like conditions are affecting the neighboring country, ushering in a period of extreme heat to the nation's interior regions.
Agencies have announced fire bans for concern about forest fires.
