A woman was trapped in her car in Kingsland New North Road during the storm in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
While some restaurants and food businesses have prospered in the wake of this week's destructive storm, others have got a raw deal.
Kingsland burger bar Grill and Shakes was burgled in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after losing power during the storm.
Owner Zeena Sattar said when she arrived to work on Wednesday morning, she saw the broken glass and initially thought it was the storm.
"But then one of my staff went round the back and she said, 'Oh my god, the till is gone'."
Sattar said she believed the hooded thief had taken advantage of the power being off and the alarm being disabled.
"The outside security cameras had switched off, and in the midst of the storm there's no one around," she said.
She thinks the burglar made his move during the storm, because the sound of him smashing glass would have been disguised by the howling wind.
The hooded man forced his way in through the glass, but probably didn't bargain on the inside camera still being operational.
"Luckily one of the internal cameras remained on and captured the whole thing. You see him breaking through with his arm then going for the till," Sattar said.
The burglar did, however, fail to notice the key for the till, which was under the counter.
"The police will probably find the battered till on the side of the road somewhere I think," Sattar said.
As well as the till, the man stuffed a whole lot of chocolates down his pants.
"Ferrero Rocher, Toblerones and stuff, he had a backpack and we're thinking, 'You've got a backpack and you're stuffing it down your pants'."
Thankfully Sattar was insured, and the incident had been reported to police.
A police spokesperson confirmed police received a report of a burglary at Grill and Shakes where the till was taken overnight on Tuesday evening-early Wednesday.
"I have asked staff and anecdotally they are not aware of a spate of burglary incidents coinciding with the power outage."
The outgoing Police Commissioner starts his five-year term in the new role on Monday.