South Island weather impacts
5pm, Friday 24 October 2025
Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by the extreme weather across the South Island.
Our focus remains on recovery, with our Incident Management Team being deactivated this afternoon. We continue to co-ordinate deliveries, facilitate repairs and provide support to stores which remain impacted by power outages and need stock replenished through our usual processes.
There are currently seven stores across Southland, Otago and Canterbury without power and unable to open. We expect these stores to start opening again over the long weekend.
Four Square Tapanui has reopened after an emergency roof repair and New World Winton is expecting to reopen with generator power by early Friday evening (24 October).
We have sent significant amounts of bottled water to the West Coast to help relieve pressure on water supply and are doing the same for the Clutha District to while they navigate a state of emergency.
We’re grateful for the continued support of our supply partners, Councils and emergency management agencies across the South Island as we work to ensure all our stores can continue to support their local communities.
With the situation continuing to evolve, we encourage people in affected communities to check their local store’s Facebook page and only go out if it is safe to do so.
We’re hearing some great stories of people going above and beyond for others during this extreme event and will look to share some of those next week.
This is the last of our proactive updates for this event. We will respond to any media queries as they are received via [email protected].
Current store status
• West Coast
o Power restored and open: All stores
• Canterbury
o Open with limited capacity: On the Spot Waiau
o Power restored and open: Four Square Culverden, Four Square Hanmer Springs, Four Square Cheviot, On the Spot Glen Tunnel and On the Spot Challenge Springfield
• Otago
o Open on generator power: Four Square Tokomairiro
o Power restored and open: New World Balclutha, Four Square Tapanui and On the Spot Tapanui
o Temporarily closed: Four Square Lawrence and Four Square Owaka
• Southland
o Temporarily closed: New World Winton, Four Square Te Anau and Four Square Tuatapere
11am, Friday 24 October 2025
Our focus is now on recovery, supporting stores who have been impacted by weather and power outages to restock and continue providing essentials for their communities.
Late last night Grey District Emergency Management allowed Foodstuffs South Island trucks access through the road cordon at Arthur’s Pass, and first thing this morning we had seven trucks go through with their regular deliveries plus a significant additional amount of bottled water to help alleviate pressure on water supply due to the Boil Water Notice in place.
We have also gained access through the road cordon to Hanmer Springs after 9am this morning, and we are working with our supply chain partners to confirm safe routes through Southland and Invercargill.
There are several stores still without power in Southland and Otago, five of which are not open – summary below.
We are supporting these stores with resupply, especially temperature-controlled goods. Our teams are working proactively with agencies and authorities to ensure deliveries can be made as soon and as safely as possible, with a strong focus on food safety.
Builders are going to Four Square Tapanui today to put a temporary roof fix in place, which will enable the store to open. We are also assessing reported roof damage at Four Square Tokomairiro. There is no other major building damage we are aware of.
Current store status
• West Coast
o Power restored and open: All stores
• Canterbury
o Open with limited capacity: On the Spot Waiau
o Open on generator power: Four Square Hanmer Springs, Four Square Cheviot
o Power restored and open: Four Square Culverden, On the Spot Glen Tunnel and On the Spot Challenge Springfield
• Otago
o Temporarily closed: Four Square Tapanui, Four Square Lawrence and Four Square Owaka,
o Open on generator power: Four Square Tokomairiro
o Power restored and open: New World Balclutha and On the Spot Tapanui
• Southland
o Temporarily closed: New World Winton, Four Square Te Anau and Four Square Tuatapere
o Power restored and open: Four Square Bluff, Four Square Outram, Four Square Stewart Island, Four Square Lumsden, On the Spot Lumsden, Four Square Mataura, On the Spot Collingwood (Invercargill), Four Square Otatara, Four Square Rosebank and Four Square Wyndham.
6pm, Thursday 23 October 2025
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the extreme weather across the South Island today, and we’re relieved all our people are safe.
With strong winds, heavy rain, power outages and road closures affecting parts of the region, our drivers and supplier partners are doing their best to safely get deliveries through to our stores.
While the severe weather has caused some disruption to deliveries, the preparation our teams put in ahead of the storm means stores are well stocked with essentials.
We have deliveries scheduled for tomorrow and are putting contingency plans in place to manage different scenarios as conditions evolve, ensuring essential supplies continue moving safely across the region.
Customers may notice temporary limits on some high-demand items until our deliveries return to normal.
We’re in constant contact with our store Owner Operators to understand what they’re experiencing on the ground and to provide any support they need.
A huge thank you to all our store and supply chain teams for their hard work keeping customers supported during what is a challenging time.
Most temporary store closures are due to power outages, except Four Square Tapanui which has suffered wind damage. Repairs will start tomorrow, Friday 24 October.
Current store status
• Canterbury
o Temporarily closed: On the Spot Waiau
o Open on generator power: Four Square Culverden, Four Square Hanmer Springs, On the Spot Glen Tunnel and On the Spot Challenge Springfield
• Otago
o Temporarily closed: New World Balclutha, Four Square Owaka, Four Square Tapanui and On the Spot Tapanui
• Southland
o Temporarily closed: New World Winton, Four Square Lumsden, Four Square Mataura, Four Square Otatara,, Four Square Rosebank, Four Square Te Anau and Four Square Tuatapere
o Open on generator power: Four Square Bluff, Four Square Lawrence, Four Square Outram, Four Square Stewart Island, Four Square Tokomairiro, Four Square Wyndham, On the Spot Lumsden and On the Spot Collingwood (Invercargill)
We encourage people in affected communities to check their local store’s Facebook page and only go out if it is safe to do so. More detailed advice is available at www.getready.govt.nz.
2:30pm, Thursday 23 October 2025
As the severe weather continues to affect parts of the South Island, a number of our stores are experiencing power outages and road closures.
Many of our stores are well prepared for severe weather, with generators and fuel in place and teams experienced in operating safely during power disruptions.
Power has been restored to all our stores in Marlborough, Tasman and the West Coast after earlier interruptions temporarily affected more than 30 Foodstuffs South Island stores. All roads to Four Square Murchison remained closed at this stage.
We have builders on standby to support with any emergency repairs, ensuring stores remain safe and secure. All our drivers are operating under strict safety protocols, with two currently staying overnight in Hokitika due to road closures in Arthur’s Pass.
Here are some of the scenes our drivers have encountered across North Canterbury today.
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| Trees and powerlines block the road near Waipara |
Wind damage to powerlines near Culverden |
The following stores are currently affected by power outages with some able to remain open on generator power:
Current store status
• North Canterbury
o Temporarily closed: Four Square Hawarden
o Open on generator power: Four Square Hanmer Springs and Four Square Culverden
• Otago
o Temporarily closed: New World Balclutha and Four Square Tapanui
• Southland
o Temporarily closed: New World Winton, Four Square Lumsden, Four Square Bluff, Four Square Otatara and Four Square Tuatapere
o Open on generator power: New World Gore
We encourage people in affected communities to check their local store’s Facebook page and only go out if it is safe to do so. More detailed advice is available at www.getready.govt.nz.
10:30am, Thursday 23 October 2025
The majority of our scheduled deliveries were completed this morning – a great effort. The exceptions being Four Square Murchison due to a road closure and Four Square Hanmer Springs – both of these stores are running on generators.
The plan is to make these deliveries tomorrow, Friday 24 October, should weather and road conditions allow.
Multiple stores across central and northern parts of the South Island have been impacted by power outages and we are working to manage this.
A reminder that if you need to visit a store, please check its Facebook page before you set off.
Extreme weather events across the South Island
9am, Thursday 23 October 2025
As the Canterbury region and wider South Island faces significant weather events, we’re actively monitoring the situation to maintain supply of essentials and support for the local communities we serve.
Our teams are assessing store operations and transport routes in the region and have contingency plans in place.
We know how important it is to stay connected and supported during extreme weather events. Across our South Island co-op, 35 of our stores serve towns of fewer than 5,000 people and another 54 serve communities of less than 10,000 — this is a responsibility we take seriously.
We’ll keep this page updated with information about our store network as the situation evolves.
Stores will share information on their Facebook pages where possible. If you need to visit a store, please check its Facebook page before you set off.