'It could have been any of us': Man killed by branch in Wellington wind found by walker

A person has died after being hit by a falling branch in Mount Victoria in Wellington.

High winds whipped through the capital on Tuesday, which is under a strong wind warning until 8pm.

Police said reports came in just before 9.30am that a man had suffered critical injuries on a trail by Lookout Road.

Hataitai resident Kirsten Johnstone told RNZ she came across a man lying unconscious under a tree and called an ambulance.

She said it was clear he'd been hit on the head.

The man was taken to hospital where he died a short time later.

Johnstone said the man's death was quite a wake up call to the danger falling branches posed.

"It could have been any of us who underestimate the wind," she said. "I don't think we knew how windy it was up on the top of the hill, on the north-facing side until we got up there."

Johnstone said it wasn't the first time she'd seen the trees in that area pose a risk.

"We've seen close calls before, we've seen falling branches just miss people and we still underestimate it."

Johnstone said over summer she'd seen another branch miss a person by only about 30 centimetres.

"I think the City Council needs to be aware of this and keep an eye on branches that are less stable."

Johnstone said her thoughts were also with the man's family following his death.

Pukehīnau - Lambton Ward councillor Nicola Young, who lives in Mt Victoria, said the death was "a frightening accident and terribly, terribly sad."

"It is a tragedy, I feel desperately sorry for the man's family and friends," Young told RNZ.

She urged people to stay away from trees during such high winds.

"The truth is once wind gets over 90 kilometres per hour you shouldn't be anywhere near trees," she said.

"I think people have to exercise natural caution. We're very lucky to have the town belt, but it's a slightly wild area and it has trees, and trees don't always like storms."

Young said the trails on Mt Victoria were very popular.

"That was a shared path, so that means it's pedestrians and cyclists. There are lots of walking tracks, people love walking their dogs... It's a very popular area," she said.

Young said the powerful winds appeared strong enough to lift her son's dog off the ground.

"I was looking after my son's 36 kilo Irish Water Spaniel, a very big dog, and we were walking along lower Mt Victoria where I live, and the wind was appalling. I actually thought the dog was going to be lifted off the ground, so I turned around and went the other way," she said.

"It was a terrifying time to be out in Mt Victoria, and that was down in the lower part away from the trees."

'Terribly sad'

The president of the Mt Victoria Residents' Association, Ellen Blake said it was a very sad day.

"I think that everybody will be terribly sad about this," she said.

"It's a very popular park, it's probably the most popular park in Wellington and people go walking up there a lot. I think everybody will be feeling for his family."

Blake said she had never heard of any other deaths or injuries on Mt Victoria.

She said the wind today had been exceptionally strong.

"I'm quite old and I would say this is up there with the windiest days we've had," she said.

"I live on the flatter bit of Mt Vic and I decided I wouldn't go anywhere near that place today because my house was shaking a bit."

A Wellington City Council spokesperson said it does tree risk assessments in the town belt and other parks and reserves and trees are cut down or managed as necessary.

"Our thoughts are with the family involved in this tragic accident," the spokesperson said.

Avoid parks, reserves

Meanwhile, in a statement released on Tuesday, the council said it "strongly urged" people to stay out of the capital city's parks and reserves due to the danger presented by falling trees and branches as gale winds battered the lower North Island.

"Members of the public should stay out of the reserves while strong winds continue."

The council said motorists and cyclists should also take care on roads due to reports of trees coming down.

It said Zealandia, and Begonia House in the Botanic Garden, had also both been closed today due to safety concerns.

During floods in the South Island in June, Peter Lines was killed by a falling tree.

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