Stormy weather kills five in New Zealand

Fierce winter winds and heavy rain hammered northern New Zealand, killing five people and cutting electricity to more than 70,000 homes, police and emergency services said on Sunday.

The weekend storm, which was most intense in upper North Island, ripped off roofs, tore down hundreds of trees and smashed power line poles, cutting off electricity.

Driving winds and blizzard conditions on Saturday also forced the evacuation of about 10,000 skiers from Mount Ruapehu in central North Island.

Two men on an 18m fishing vessel died after it was grounded in heavy seas off the east coast early Sunday, police said. Two other crew members were rescued.

Searchers on Sunday recovered the body of an outrigger canoeist from Matakana Island off the east coast after he disappeared a day earlier when his boat was tipped over in high seas.

A driver was killed when his car plowed into a flooded roadside ditch, and firefighters said another man likely died after candles were suspected of setting a house on fire. Winds knocked out power supplies in the area.

Electricity utility Powerco’s network operations manager Ross Dixon said the storm cut power to tens of thousands of consumers. Thousands still had no electricity by late Sunday.

The nation’s weather forecaster, MetService, said the stormy weather was easing late Sunday in most areas, but another storm was forecast to lash New Zealand on Tuesday.