Cyclone Gita wreaks havoc in Tonga’s capital
Parliament flattened, homes wrecked as power, water supplies disrupted
Tonga’s neighbours scrambled to deliver emergency relief yesterday after Cyclone Gita tore across the Pacific island nation in the middle of the night, flattening the parliament, tearing roofs off homes and causing widespread flooding.
There were no confirmed reports of deaths from the Category 4 storm that bought winds of around 200km/h, but there were a lot of injured people, some seriously, said Graham Kenna, an Australian government adviser at Tonga’s National Emergency Management Office.
Photos posted on social media showed a wrecked Parliament House building in the capital, as well as extensive flooding and downed power lines.
Access to areas outside capital were hindered by storm damage and debris.
“The full extent of damage caused by Cyclone Gita is still being assessed but there is an the the immediate need for assistance on the ground,” New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
“About 5,700 people sought shelter in evacuation centres overnight, and it is expected these numbers will increase substantially tonight.” New Zealand is donating NZ$750,000 (Dh2 million) in aid, and a NZ Air Force Hercules aircraft was due to fly emergency relief supplies into Tonga on Tuesday.
Australia is donating A$350,000 (Dh1 million) worth of emergency shelter, kitchen and hygiene kits, while the country’s foreign minister said the Australian Defence Force personnel would assist with clean-up efforts.
The cyclone was heading towards Fiji’s southern islands on Tuesday, with some forecasts reporting it intensifying towards a Category 5 storm.
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama warned residents to “heed warnings and prepare”, although the storm is expected to bypass heavily populated areas.
Gita had pummelled Samoa and American Samoa, about 900km to the northeast, over the weekend, flooding the Samoan capital, Apia. Tonga’s clean-up began in the early hours of Tuesday as the tail of the cyclone was still over the capital, Nuku’alofa.
“Every second power pole has been knocked over and the lines are just everywhere,” Kenna said, saying it would likely be days before power could be restored. Water supplies and radio networks were also disrupted.
“They turned the power off very early before the cyclone came, knowing that the power lines would be blown down, which was a good move.”