One brave south coast resident felt the force of Wellington's coastal barrage.

Five properties have been evacuated and a person was swept out to sea as large waves slam into Wellington's South Coast.

A Wellington Free Ambulance spokeswoman confirmed a person swept to sea in Ōwhiro Bay on Wednesday morning had been recovered with moderate injuries.

Shortly after 12pm, police confirmed five Ōwhiro Bay homes - with about 15 residents - were being evacuated.

Big waves pummelled coastal areas around Wellington on April 15, making for a difficult ferry crossing and closing roads.

It comes after waves more than five metres high had been slamming into the coastline.

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Emergency services had been called to the south coast of Wellington, particularly from Ōwhiro Bay through to Island Bay due to high swells which had caused flooding.

One house has been badly damaged, with a window frame smashed away from the wall. Other houses have damage to their garages and front walls.

In several sections the footpath has been entirely ripped off the ground, and the footbridge over the Ōwhiro Stream has been wiped out on the sea-facing side.

A police spokeswoman said residents were receiving support.

HECKER SCHEID/SUPPLIED Waves spotted at Island Bay.

The public were told to stay home and to avoid the foreshore.

"Do not come down to take pictures or just to have a look," the spokeswoman said.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF High tide was about 11am, with waves peaking at more than 5m.

"Alert Level 4 requirements still apply. If evacuation is required, police will come to your property and speak with you."

The waves had caused power cuts in the area and the next high tide was expected around 11.30pm.

Emergency services had the situation in hand and did not require offers of accommodation for those currently evacuated, the spokeswoman said.

CATHERINE SKINNER Large logs have trapped residents in the area.

High tide hit after 11am and there was no significant let up in the swell expected through the day.

"A number of road blocks remain in place and police are working closely with partners to clean up the roads and assess damage."

Wellington City Council had closed roads and urged people to avoid the area between Breaker Bay and Ōwhiro Bay because of the dangers the waves were causing.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF The Bluebridge Ferry battles the large swell.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokeswoman said fire services, police, Wellington Free Ambulance and the council were co-ordinating a response to the waves.

At 9.48am, two fire trucks were sent to Ōwhiro Bay Parade as the road was "swamped" with water and there had been flooding.

CATHERINE SKINNER A house in Ōwhiro Bay with damage to its front window

A Wellington Free Ambulance spokeswoman said its rescue squad was positioned at the incident control point to ensure they could get to any residents still in their homes if they needed help.

MetService said there were waves expected from Palliser Bay to Wellington's South Coast of three to 5.5m.

These would ease to 4m peaks on Wednesday evening and to 2m by Thursday afternoon.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF Huge waves at high tide left large debris on the Esplanade between Island and Ōwhiro Bays, Wellington.

Eastbourne has also been hit by the waves.

Hutt City Council maintenance contracts manager John Middleton said there was a lot of debris on the roads.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF Residents sweep up debris on Wellington's South Coast.

Contractors were on site to deal with the situation, traffic and people, he said.

There was likely to be a lot of cleaning up to do which could take a day or two, he said.

DALE SCOTT Surfers flout the lockdown rules as big waves hit the coast around Wellington.

GARAGE DOOR SMASHES INTO HOUSE

Ōwhiro Bay resident Catherine Skinner said some houses on the street looked like they had been hit by shrapnel from all the broken windows.

She had been out walking around 9.15am and was caught by a wave which washed over the street and up to knee level.

They have had internet cut off and are unable to get out of the street due to large logs blocking the road. Several other homes have lost power.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF A large wave slams into the South Coast.

"The community is really looking after each other," she said. "We've all been out and checked on each other, some of them helped to sweep debris off the road."

Stuff reporter Nikki Macdonald at Ōwhiro Bay said she woke on Wednesday to a beautiful day with the odd wave slopping over the sea wall and road.

"But as it got closer to the 11am high tide, the swell just got bigger, and bigger," Macdonald wrote.

MATTHEW TSO/STUFF Contractors on Days Bay in Lower Hutt could be seen cleaning up.

"Fascination turned to fear as waves smashed into the wall, raising a plume of water that then thundered across the road, through the gate, up the path. It brought with it someone's old lampstand, a fence paling and a Thomas the Tank Engine ball.

"Our solid wood garage door has been wrenched clean out of its housing and smashed into the car. The neighbour's front door is busted. A resident across the bay must have had a garage full of fishing gear because the bay was suddenly awash with buoys, fishing crates and rope.

MATTHEW TSO/STUFF At Days Bay, swells were so powerful they pulled mats for wheelchair users off their stakes.

"The seaside fence had been completely smashed in, so there was nothing to stop it washing back into the sea. Neighbours rushed out between deluges to try to salvage what they could.

"Logs the size of cars worked their way up and down the surf. We watched, hoping one wouldn't be thrown directly at us.

"One landed in the middle of the street, blocking the road.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF Chaos near Island Bay.

"Firemen and women came to check on residents. Smoke and a burning rubber smell was rising from the black box on the street which says 'danger live cables'.

"There's still power for now.

"The neighbours, with their 4-year-old and new baby, retreated up the hill to their garden. We're all shaking from the power of it, and the utter powerlessness of watching it come and knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it."

1 of 7 KEVIN STENT/STUFF A wave crashes into a car park near Owhiro Bay. 2 of 7 KEVIN STENT/STUFF More carnage around Wellington's South Coast. 3 of 7 ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF Emergency service cordon off the road to Owhiro Bay, where large waves have forced the evacuation of some homes. 4 of 7 KEVIN STENT/STUFF A large log has been washed onto a Wellington South Coast road. 5 of 7 MATT TSO/STUFF Large waves crash over the road to Eastbourne, Hutt Valley. 6 of 7 KEVIN STENT/STUFF Police patrol a debris-covered road. 7 of 7 KEVIN STENT/STUFF Huge waves at high tide have caused damage and left large debris on the Esplanade between Island and Owhiro Bays, Wellington.

Another resident said the local bridge was damaged.

"A lot of the road plus peoples houses [and] cars are being inundated," he said

In Lower Hutt, the swells had deposited rocks and water just metres from their doorstep.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF Police around a closed South Coast road.

Lowry Bay resident Hayley White said the the swells were an exciting start to her kids' first day back at school.

Removing the tossed up debris into her driveway would give her something to do during the lockdown, she said.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF Huge waves at high tide have caused damage and left large debris on the Esplanade between Island and Ōwhiro Bays in Wellington.

Rocks - some as big as fists - along with other flotsam have been washed up on to Marine Drive.

LOW PRESSURE CAUSING WAVES

Niwa forecaster Ben Noll said the waves were caused by a deep area of low pressure passing the Chatham Islands.

ELLIOTT HENDERSON/SUPPLIED Waves have brought debris on Wellington South Coast roads on Wednesday morning. Some roads are now closed and evacuations are expected.

"For Wellington, the highest waves are expected to last into the mid-afternoon before easing this evening," Noll said.

High tide took place just after 11am and low tide would occur just after 5pm.

Niwa's monitoring buoy at Baring Head had recorded a maximum wave height of 5.5m so far.

"When large waves break, there is an increase in wave set-up. The water level becomes elevated, allowing waves to come further inland. This is in addition to having slightly elevated tides on the back of King Tides a few days ago."

NIKKI MACDONALD/STUFF A busted garage door at Ōwhiro Bay, Wellington.

When combined with a deep low pressure system and strong winds, this increased the risk for coastal erosion and flooding along exposed coastlines, he said.

