Heavy snow cripples New Zealand in rare polar blast

Aug 15, 2011, 6:08 GMT

Wellington - Much of New Zealand was crippled Monday by a rare Antarctic blast that brought the heaviest snowfalls in decades, closing roads, airports and schools and cutting power to thousands of homes.

Snow fell on the biggest city Auckland for the first time since 1976 and dumped the heaviest amounts on the capital Wellington for half a century. Forecasters said there would be more before the big freeze eased late in the week.

After it had snowed on and off in Wellington for 24 hours, civil defence officials warned residents of hillside suburbs to stay indoors and face being stranded for two or three days as freezing temperatures made roads and footpaths treacherous.

Parts of 20 main highways were reportedly impassable in the South Island, which took the brunt of the storm described by the MetService as a once-in-a-lifetime event.

In the North Island, police closed the two main highways linking Auckland and Wellington and two of three roads out of the harbourside capital.

Wellington civil defence manager Rian Van Schalkwyk urged people to stock up on food, water, firewood and medicines and to check on neighbours, particularly the elderly.

In Christchurch, the second snowy blast of the winter brought fresh misery for thousands of people already struggling in homes hit by a series of devastating earthquakes over the last 11 months.