Taupo residents forced to boil water after power outage

Wild weather lashes New Zealand. Photo / APN

Some rural Taupo residents are having to boil their water until further notice after much of the district was left without power following heavy rain and strong winds today.

Taupo District Council is switching to an untreated water supply on River Road in Broadlands Forest, 33 km north east of Taupo.

All households connected to the River Road water scheme were required to boil any water taken from the main water supply, Taupo District Council said.

Meanwhile power had been restored to "most of" Taupo after about 10,000 were left without power today, lines company Unison spokesman Danny Gough told NZPA.

However, a few pockets of rural customers would remain without power overnight, he said.

There were also about 2500 customers without power in Wairarapa, Manawatu, Tararua, Wanganui, Taranaki, South Waikato, Hauraki Plains, Coromandel and Western Bay of Plenty, Powerco network operations manager Phil Marsh said.

The worst affected areas were in coastal Taranaki and Western Bay of Plenty where about 1000 customers would be without power overnight, he said.

MetService said the heavy rain and wind which pounded the North Island and caused these power outages for most of today would start to ease off tomorrow morning.

Strong southeast winds which have battered the Central North Island across to Taranaki and down to Kapiti Coast, Wellington, the Marlborough Sounds and Golden Bay will continue, at times gusting up to 130km/h, until tomorrow morning, forecaster Ian Miller said.

Rain and wind had eased in the Bay of Plenty.

In Gisborne the heaviest falls were over but outbreaks of rain were expected through to Thursday.

Rain was expected to continue falling near the ranges and coastal hills in Hawke's Bay and Tararua district through to tomorrow evening.

Southeast gales gusting to 120km/h were forecast for parts of Nelson, Buller and Westland tonight and tomorrow morning.

- NZPA