Jul 30, 2008, 9:07 GMT
Wellington - Two people are believed to have drowned in floodwaters, a town of about 30,000 people was left without power, homes were evacuated and schools closed as torrential rain and gale-force winds lashed New Zealand Wednesday.
A civil defence emergency was declared in the Marlborough region at the top of the South Island as the second major storm in a week carved an 1,100-kilometre swathe down the country, wreaking havoc in its path.
A woman was swept to her death in the Bay of Islands in northern New Zealand as she tried to cross a swollen creek to get to her house. Weather conditions forced police to abandon a search for her partner believed to have been with her.
The storm raged from the northernmost region of the North Island down to the South Island, toppling trees and power lines, blocking roads and leaving widespread flooding.
Residents of 14 houses had to leave their homes in the north Auckland suburb of Torbay, as they were threatened with being swept away by a huge landslide.
A mini tornado ripped roofs off houses in Mount Maunganui on the east coast of the North Island and emergency workers had to dodge flying sheets of roofing torn from buildings in Greymouth on the west coast of the South Island.
The 30,000 residents of Levin, 95 kilometres north of the capital Wellington, and the surrounding area were told to stay indoors after 120-kilometre-per-hour winds toppled hundreds of trees, bringing down power lines and leaving them to face the night without electricity.
Air New Zealand cancelled a number of flights in and out of Wellington airport because of the winds. The South Island ferry terminal at Picton was flooded and closed.
The MetService warned that heavy rain and winds of up to 130km/h would continue into the night and said a huge low-pressure system over New Zealand was not expected to move away before the weekend.
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