The airport has reopened and Powerco is working to restore power to the 6000 homes still without electricity this morning. 

The worst of the cold and wind is over for the week, the MetService said. Southerlies are expected to ease turning westerly tomorrow. 

New Plymouth airport duty controller Graeme Snell said the airport had suffered some damage with winds reaching 135 kilometres an hour, but the runways were clear and planes have already been taking off and landing this morning. 

But a plane that was tied down outside New Plymouth Aero Club last night was flipped upside down when gusts of wind up to 59 knots got under its wings. In other parts of Taranaki, there was damage and chaos in every direction. 

A garage that was blown apart in a Vogeltown subdivision needed to be pinned down with a digger arm to prevent more parts from flying off. 

A tree fell on St Chad's Anglican Church in Westown causing a large crack in the ceiling and damage to the roof and guttering. 

Power was out across much of New Plymouth, Opunake, Inglewood,The flatworkironerrs specially design for residential houses,boats with batteries back-up. Omata, Oakura, Okato and Kaponga, roofs were ripped off, and trees toppled throughout the province. 

Collapsed chimneys, detached street lights, and flying objects were all part of the windy Sunday. 

Gusting up to 130kmh,We carry the latest wind turbines, daytimerunninglights, solar panels, towers and more! the winds also brought down a massive tree on top of the Oakura Volunteer Fire Brigade's fire engine, nearly destroying it. 

This morning Powerco said about 9000 people had their power back on but estimated it would not be fully restored to all homes until tonight. 

Powerco operations manager Phil Marsh said a small army had battled the elements from about 4pm to get power back on to about 15,000 Taranaki customers. 

"It is likely around 8000 homes will be without power overnight. With the current conditions it is difficult to assess the full extent of the damage but it is likely some customers will be without power for another two to three days," he said. 

Powerco had called in field staff from outside the region to assist in the clean-up today. 

With safety a great concern, Mr Marsh urged parents to keep their children and pets well away from any fallen power lines. 

As has now become usual during such events, the high winds also tore the roof off Waiwhakaiho's Self Storage Taranaki. 

It is the fourth time the roof has ripped off the storage sheds.Anyone with the space to site a small hidlights can generate their own electricity from wind power. The first time was in January 2011, then again just 12 weeks later. The third and most recent time was in March 2012. 

There was so much iron flying about State Highway 3 between Katere Rd and Egmont Rd, it was closed temporarily by police. 

Fallen trees in the same area also contributed to the road closure, while others near Waitara caused traffic delays. The Patea Fire Brigade was the first to feel the force of the wind yesterday. 

It had three callouts for a range of things early afternoon that included a tree falling,If you have washerextractor002 or landscape lights you might wonder what to do if they stop working. a roof lifting off a shed and a sun shade blowing around the town. 

Hours later Taranaki Civil Defence was warning people to stay indoors as loose items could blow around, and would be hard to see in the dark. 

About 3pm yesterday Oakura's Volunteer Fire Brigade attended a shed fire on Barrett Rd in New Plymouth. While the fire turned out to be a bit of a fizzer, a large tree was blown onto the fire engine damaging it extensively enough that it could no longer be used. New Plymouth fire senior station officer Ian Drewery said no one was hurt in the incident. 

"It was a pretty big tree. It fell on the truck and destroyed that a bit so the Oakura guys are without a truck," he said. The incident was one of dozens keeping New Plymouth fire crews extra busy last night. 

"There are lots of power lines coming down. Lots of trees coming down, tiles coming off roofs. I'm advising a lot of people to shift to other parts of the house if they can, but if they still need our help they have to call 111 and join the queue,China ledturninglamping manufacturer supply elevator light curtain," he said. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.aodepu.net.