Severe Weather Event: Latest Updates

Update: Tuesday 28 October, 9:10am

It looks like the wild weather has finally subsided — thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as last week!

There are still a few properties without power across the district, but PowerCo crews are working hard to get these restored as soon as possible.

We still have one road closed due to weather damage, and Tararua Alliance are putting a plan in place to repair and reopen it.

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: Dannevirke New World experienced a power cut overnight and may not be able to offer their full range of frozen and chilled goods today. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.

A huge thank you to our resilient communities, roading crews, local contractors, power companies, Emergency Services, the TDC Incident Management Team, Civil Defence Manawatū Whanganui, and all the other supporting agencies working behind the scenes to keep our communities safe.

Here’s hoping for more sunshine and less wind in the days ahead! 

Eketāhuna Water Supply Update:

The water treatment plant is now recovering well, and operations are starting to normalise.

We thank you for your patience during this time.

Update: Monday 27 October, 1pm

PowerCo have restored power to almost outages in the Tararua from the Thursday 23 October severe weather event.

For updates over the weekend please check out https://www.powerco.co.nz/

For roading updates, visit our website at https://www.tararuadc.govt.nz/.../roa.../current-road-status

More wind and rain is forecast for today and tomorrow. Keep an eye out at https://www.metservice.com/

The Tararua our Emergency Operations Centre and Incident Management Team has the following priorities for Monday into Tuesday:

1. Monitor and support ongoing recovery efforts
2. Prepare for the Monday / Tuesday storm
3. Maintain situational awareness

Eketāhuna Water Supply Update:

Following the recent heavy rain and power outages, the Eketāhuna water supply has been under pressure and struggled to keep up with demand. Levels have dropped, but we’re slowly recovering - though we’re not out of the woods just yet.

With tonight’s forecast for more high winds and heavy rain, there’s a chance this weather could affect our treatment plant operations.

We’ll continue to monitor the situation closely and will keep you updated.

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Update: Saturday  25 October, 11am

PowerCo have worked hard to restore power to the Eketāhuna township. There are still power outages in the southern area of our district.

For updates over the weekend please check out https://www.powerco.co.nz/

For roading updates, visit our website at https://www.tararuadc.govt.nz/.../roa.../current-road-status

More wind and rain is forecast for early next week. Keep an eye out at https://www.metservice.com/

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We truly appreciate our resilient communities, roading teams, power companies, and other supporting agencies during this wild weather!

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Update: Friday 24 October, 12:25pm

𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿:

Scanpower and Powerco are still working hard to restore power across the district. Powerco have extra teams on the ground and helicopters flying this morning to assess damage and prioritise repairs.

Check out https://outages.powerco.co.nz/ for more information.

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𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀:

Two cell towers are currently without power, which may be affecting Spark and One NZ customers. Generators are being sourced to get these towers back online.

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟭𝟭.

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𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴:

There are currently 12 roads closed across the district. We have four crews along with inspectors, subcontractors, and traffic management teams out today assessing and clearing debris to get roads reopened as soon as possible.

For the latest road closures and updates, visit: tararuadc.govt.nz/services/roading/current-road-status

Please take care on the roads, drive to the conditions, and please be aware of our workers on the roads.

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𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿:

The weather has now settled, and no further severe weather is expected over the long weekend. Rain is forecast to return on Tuesday morning.

Keep an eye out at https://www.metservice.com/ for more information.

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𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀:

Eketāhuna and Pahiatua Libraries are both back open today.

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Thank you to everyone for your patience and support while crews work hard to get everything back up and running.

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Update: Thursday 23 October, 4:37pm

The wind has certainly picked up in Tararua!

We're seeing widespread impacts across the district, including fallen strees, downed powerlines, and flying debris.

Roads: As at 4:00pm, 13 roads are currently closed, and 8 roads are being inspected. Check the latest updates here Current Road Status | Tararua District Council

Power: As at 4:00 pm, over 1,200 properties are without power across the district.

Please stay safe, avoid unnecessary travel, and look out for your neighbours.

Update: Thursday 23 October, 10:46am

Update: Tuesday 21 October, 9:36pm

Update: Tuesday 21 October 2025, 3:30pm

High winds across the Tararua District

An Orange Strong Wind Warning is in place for the whole Tararua District until 8pm tonight (Tuesday 21 October). Another period of severe northwesterly gales is forecast for Thursday 23 October, and a Heavy Rain Warning is also in effect for the Tararua Ranges in the south of our district.

This morning we’ve received multiple reports of impacts across the district:

• Trees down in several areas, causing road closures - Tararua Alliance teams are out clearing debris and working to reopen roads.
• Power outages are affecting Norsewood, Eketāhuna, Pahiatua, Pongaroa and Ākitio - Scanpower and Powerco are working to restore supply.
• Debris, fences, roofing material, rubbish and recycling are being blown around in Dannevirke and Norsewood.

Conditions are expected to remain windy through the day, with more rain this afternoon for our southern areas.

Please:

👉  Keep your wheelie bins and recycling in or weighed down — half-full bins can easily become airborne.

👉  Drive with care — watch for fallen branches and other hazards.

👉  Stay indoors where possible while winds are strong.

👉 Check on neighbours or friends, especially in rural areas, if it’s safe to do so.

Our teams are continuing to monitor the situation and will share updates as new information becomes available.

Check out our Current Road Status page to keep up to date with closed roads in the district: 

https://www.tararuadc.govt.nz/roadstatus

Check out the power company pages to keep up to date with power outages in the district:

https://outages.powerco.co.nz/

https://scanpower.co.nz/

https://www.centralines.co.nz/outages/

Report fallen trees, debris, or damage on roads to Council on 06 374 4080 or 06 376 0110.

For non-urgent matters, you can report through the Antenno app.

We also now have an Instagram account! Follow us if this is your preferred method of receiving updates.

Original Notice

𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗨𝗔 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗧 & 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗨𝗔 𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘

MetService have issued a strong wind warning for the Tararua District from 10pm Monday 20 October - 8pm Tuesday 21 October.Severe gale northwesterly gusting 130 km/h in exposed places.

What you can do:

• Bring inside or tie down anything that can be broken or picked up by strong winds - such as outdoor furniture, trampolines and garden gnomes - if it's light enough to fly, it might just be in for a free ride
• Remove any debris or loose items from your property. Branches and firewood may become missiles in strong winds!
• Bring pets indoors - great excuse for cuddles on the couch!
• Stay safe and keep an eye out folks. (And if your neighbours trampoline does end up in your backyard, it doesn't mean you can keep it!)

MetService have also issued a heavy rain warning for the Tararua Range in the southern part of our district: 11pm Monday 20 October - 6pm Tuesday 21 October A period of heavy rain, and amounts may approach warning criteria. Moderate chance of upgrading to a Warning.