Tens of thousands of people are without power, buildings have been damaged, trucks have flipped and the West Coast is cut off from the rest of the Mainland by road, after ferocious winds and heavy rain lashed the much of the country. A state of local emergency remains in place for Canterbury, with many districts under rare, red-level strong wind warnings. In Dunedin, Otago University postponed exams and urged students to stay indoors as wind gusts uprooted trees across the city. Katie Todd reports.