"We've seen close calls before, we've seen falling branches just miss people", says the woman who came across the man hit by a falling branch.

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.