Damage in the lower South Island is so widespread, efforts to restore power could take weeks

Clutha District Council says Powernet returned power to 200 properties yesterday, but nearly two and half thousand are still cut off.

It says the evolving situation means outages in remote areas could last weeks - rather than days.

People are being asked to conserve water, with the Lawrence reservoir empty - and the plant struggling.

The Transport Agency's working to restore significantly compromised damaged roads.