Wild weather keeps emergency services busy

As wild weather battered the country overnight and throughout the day, emergency services around Franklin were busy attending call-outs.

A police spokeswoman said police were called to a vehicle colliding with a fallen tree on Glenbrook-Waiuku Road at about 3.50am.

There were no reports of injury, she said.

The road remained closed for a large part of the day while contractors cleared the fallen tree, with traffic detouring down Morley Road or Glenbrook Station Road.

The Waiuku Volunteer Fire Brigade also attended that incident, along with another tree down across the road at Karioitahi about 6am.

Waiau Pa Volunteer Fire Brigade attended a fallen tree incident in Karaka around 7.20am, while the Onewhero Volunteer Fire Brigade did the same in Onewhero around 8.45am.

Meanwhile, police received a report of a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Waiuku Road and Glenbrook Station Road just after 8am, with two people receiving minor injuries.

A Hato Hone St John spokesman said they responded with one ambulance and one rapid response vehicle.

“One patient was assessed and treated at the scene and did not require transportation to hospital or a medical centre.”

Elsewhere across the country, a state of emergency has been declared for Christchurch and the Selwyn district in Canterbury.

Soldiers found themselves in snowy conditions at Tekapo Military Camp, with the New Zealand Defence Force sharing photos and a video of the snow on social media.

Wellington is under a red wind warning until 3am Friday, with MetService warning of a threat to life from flying items and falling trees. Power has been cut to thousands of properties across Wellington, Wairarapa and Manawatu, and all flights in and out of Wellington have been cancelled.

Cook Strait ferry sailings have been cancelled until at least Friday afternoon.