Thousands in South Island could be without power for a week, towns running out of water Stuff.co.nz

There are concerns parts of the lower South Island could run out of water after Thursday's ferocious winds damaged a number of water plants.

Clutha joined Southland in declaring a local state of emergency today, with a water conservation notice in place for the whole district.

Power and communications outages have left many communities isolated and facing an enormous cleanup job.

Thousands of homes are also without power in Otago, Wairarapa and North Canterbury, where one local said it felt like a tornado had hit. Senior reporter Juliet Speedy has the latest.