A message for those who have been without power for several days, after strong winds caused widespread outages - to think about food safety

Southland, Clutha and Kaikoura are still under a state of emergency - and boil-water notices remain for Greymouth and Clutha.

Crews are continuing to make progress - the number of customers without power, is down to around around eight-thousand, and around 50 cell towers still down.

MetService has issued a host of new strong wind and rain warnings and watches for parts of both islands, beginning either this evening or tomorrow.

Southland Emergency Management Controller Vibhuti Chopra, , says some power outages will stretch into next week.

She says those who are still without power, should be careful with food - don't eat perishables, and dispose of food in the freezer.