Emergency services in Canterbury say a wild burst of weather which hit the city this evening has calmed down

They are still dealing with a raft of incidents such as trees down across roads in Christchurch and surrounding areas.

At one stage there was a severe wind warning in place for the city as a front passed across.

Orion is still working to restore power to around 700 of the 1300 houses that were left without power earlier. 

Fire and Emergency says at one stage all its appliances were occupied, but things have calmed down

They've dealt with several cases of roofing iron lifting as well.

One person received minor injuries when a tree branch blew onto their car in the Ilam Supervalue carpark.

Thunderstorms are still expected to hit the city sometime tonight.