Gales wreak havoc around south

JOHN HAWKINS/Southland Times

HELTER-SHELTER: Gale-force winds blew this schoolbus shelter over on State Highway 1 near Woodlands yesterday. The shelter rocked precariously on a fence post as gusts threatened to flip it on to its back.

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Northwesterly gales wreaked havoc across the south yesterday morning – lifting roofs, toppling trees and downing powerlines.

Police and MetService issued warnings as strong winds blasted the region.

Overnight winds intensified about 9am, with emergency services receiving numerous calls. They tapered off about lunchtime.

Senior Sergeant Bruce Terry said police reported trees blown over, power lines down and dangerous driving conditions in exposed areas.

Trees were toppled on Drysdale Rd at Myross Bush, Castlerock Rd near Frisco Rd, Lochiel Bridge Rd at Lochiel and on State Highway 94 through the Eglinton Valley.

Fallen lines caused intermittent power cuts across the region and fire services were called out to secure roofs lifted by the winds.

Invercargill senior station officer Alan Goldworthy said city firefighters attended calls to a house in Elles Rd and another in Woodlands, east of the city, in quick succession.

They received a third callout at 10.22am to a tree across powerlines at Myross Bush but arrived to find PowerNet linesmen clearing things up.

In Winton, a 5m by 8m section of the Winton Racecourse's public grandstand was damaged by high winds about 7.50am.

The section split into two parts, with one being blown into the side of the birdcage grandstand, while the other fell behind the grandstands.

The damage happened only a day before the Wairio Trotting Club's meeting at the course.

MetService forecaster Derek Holland said South West Cape on Stewart Island bore the brunt of the wind, with speeds averaging 115kmh and gusting to 170kmh.

Wind speeds at Mid Dome in Northern Southland measured 120kmh, with gusts reaching 160kmh, he said.

Strong winds were reported elsewhere, but were "not out of the ordinary".

Winds were "pretty much as expected" before tapering off from lunch through to mid-afternoon.

High winds also ripped through the Southern Lakes district, uprooting trees and toppling power poles, cutting electricity to thousands of residents.

More than 2500 customers lost their power supply, although most outages were repaired within a few hours.

At Arthurs Point, a massive oak tree was one of the first to fall, just before 1.30pm. It crushed a parked four-wheel-drive vehicle and cut power to the area.

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