As the winter weather is making itself felt, most recently with tornadoes in Taranaki and Ruapehu, please stay safe and travel only if absolutely necessary.

Treat all lines as live and report power outages to your supplier.

Please ask for assistance if you need it, and keep an eye on your neighbours.

For updates at this stage please refer to https://www.facebook.com/TaranakiCivilDefence/ and https://www.facebook.com/ruapehudc/

Weather updates http://www.metservice.com/national/home.

Pic below of unoccupied home, taken from Ruapehu District Council facebook page.