High winds in Christchurch has seen more than 2800 Orion customers left without power.

Orion's network was affected by high winds on Thursday afternoon, which has caused trees and branches to fall through power lines, cutting power in a number of rural areas.

Rural locations are mainly affected including Lincoln, West Melton, Tai Tapu, Akaroa and in Lyttelton.

Orion crews are working as quickly and safely as they can to restore power and ensure public safety, the company said.

WATCH: Wild and windy weather hits Greymouth

Summer has taken a backseat as a massive storm ravages many parts of the country, bringing down trees and causing evacuations as rain and gale-force winds strike.

On Thursday afternoon the Nelson Tasman Group Emergency Operations Centre was activated and evacuations have begun in the Monaco, Ruby Bay, Mapua, Collingwood and Nelson City areas.

 

 

High water levels have forced the evacuation of the University of Otago.

Civil defence centres are available for displaced residents at Monaco, Mapua and Collingwood.

There are a number of road closures throughout the region, including Rocks Road (SH6), Takaka Hill and the Coastal Road around Ruby Bay.

Dramatic footage on social media shows water crashing through the Boathouse Cafe as waves lash the region.

The Greymouth CBD has been closed due to high winds, along with a number of schools.

Police are advising motorists to take extreme care along the Coastal Highway between Greymouth and Westport as trees have come down.

LIVE: State of Emergency in Buller, Wellington flights cancelled

Meanwhile, emergency services are being stretched in Dunedin - after dealing with a huge fire on Wednesday night, the prospect of flooding has led to sandbags being made available for residents to prevent flooding.

Civil Defence controller Sandy Graham says the city's emergency operations centre has been open since it began raining on Thursday morning. More than 60mm of rain is forecast between midday and 4pm.

The areas most likely to be affected by flooding are low-lying areas such as South Dunedin and Mosgiel. Heavy rain may also cause localised issues for the hill suburbs.

Snow is even being forecast for South Island alpine roads - where the MetService has issued a warning for the Lindis Pass and Crown Range Road. Around 1cm of wet snow could settle near the summits, it says.

In Queenstown, there is flooding on the Mt Aspiring Road.

READ MORE: Woman feared for life as waves swamped car in Nelson

MetService has issued a severe weather warning for the west of the North Island and Canterbury and Otago, which included heavy rain and gale force winds, as former Tropical Cyclone Fehi moves across the country.

It says up to 350mm of rain could fall in the west of the South Island, while most parts of the North Island are expected to get rain on Thursday.

Wild weather hits Greymouth.

In the Coromandel, warnings have been issued for slips and road closures.

Heavy rain is expected for the Tararua Range, Mt Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, the Gisborne ranges and Waikato, Waitomo, Taumarunui, Taupo and Taihape.

Earlier, part of Tamaki Drive in Auckland was closed after a king tide led to water flooding the road.

In Wellington, harbour ferry sailings have been cancelled because of high winds, train services are suspended between Porirua and Plimmerton, while seawall damage on the Kapiti Coast means trains will be replaced by buses.

Wellington City Council has received reports of trees blown down on Moana Road in Kelburn, a large pohutukawa on Para Street in Miramar, a large pine tree on Makara Road at Makara Beach.

There's also a streetlight dangling on Orchy Crescent in Southgate.

Flights in and out of Wellington have been delayed or cancelled.