Wilma wrecks Ha'apai homes [1]
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 - 14:04. Updated on Friday, May 2, 2014 - 16:26.
By Linny Folau
With photos by Uikelotu Paletu'a
Cyclone Wilma hit Tonga's Ha'apai group yesterday morning, January 25, tearing off dozens of rooftops, with reports of houses collapsing and power poles falling, as the centre of the Category 3 cyclone passed over central and southern Ha'apai, moving toward the south west.
Mafua Maka, Head of the National Emergency unit, said today that they had received verbal reports that Ha'apai was the worst hit of Tonga with houses damaged.
He said an assessment team would fly to Ha'apai at 2:00pm today, Wednesday, to physically inspect the damage and report back to Nuku'alofa on radio from TDS vessel Voea Neiafu this evening.
Damage
Meanwhile, Ha'apai Police said this morning after assessing the damage yesterday, around 19 houses had been wrecked and collapsed from Pangai to Foa. While up to 27 houses had rooftops torn, including the Governor's residence at Pangai.
Police officer Talakai said the electricity remained off on Lifuka island after about nine electricity poles had collapsed and much of the power lines were down. The telephone communications to Lifuka are fine and the water is running.
He said they had one report of a minor injury sustained by a 22-year-old male but no one else was hurt during the cyclone.
He said the cyclone started battering Ha'apai at around 10 am on Tuesday 25 January. They had received no reports from Noumuka as yet, because of problems with the telephone to that island.
The cyclone moved faster than the Tuesday morning forecast, with the strongest gusts reaching Ha'apai and Tongatapu about four hours earlier than predicted.
The Track of Tropical Cyclone Wilma, published by the Tonga National Weather Forecasting Centre at Fua'amotu shows Wilma tracking from Samoa and intensifying to Category 3 as it moved to the east of Vava'u on Monday. A Category 3 cyclone has mean winds of 64-85 knots with a central pressure of 970-945hPa. The centre crossed southern Ha'apai at 22:00 UTC. Track of Cyclone Wilma (with times stated in UTC). [2]
'Ofa Fa'anunu, director of the Meteorological Office at Fua'amotu said today that this meant that the centre crossed Ha'afeva and Lifuka at around 10:00 am Tonga time on Tuesday 25 January.
Thankful
The owner of the 'Evaloni Guest House in central Pangai, Tupoutu'a Lavulavu, spoke to Matangi Tonga Online on telephone today and said she was lucky that her guest house wasn't damaged.
But she said there were many houses damaged with roof tops torn off and some old warehouses in the town had been wrecked, including an old copra timber building at the wharf which was demolished by the cyclone. She said some of the small falekoloa's rooftops in the capital had been blown off as well.
"We just thank god that no one was killed since the cyclone has caused severe damage to some houses, our trees have been wrecked including our fruit crops," she said.
Meanwhile, it is reported that Vava'u was not damaged by the cyclone and is running its usual business today.
Tongatapu was also lucky experiencing strong gusty winds yesterday, but the only visible damage at this stage is felled trees bringing down some power lines in the capital where some areas have yet to have their electricity reconnected.
The capital Nuku'alofa has resumed normal business today.
Cyclone Wilma
Tropical Cyclone Wilma at 5:00 am Wednesday 25 January, was located to the far southwest of Tongatapu.
Cyclone Wilma continues to intensify as it moves away from Tonga today towards the southwest at about 15 knots. It is expected to become a Category 4 cyclone out to sea as it moves in the direction of Norfolk Island before weakening on Friday.
Air New Zealand flights to and from Tonga today have been rescheduled.
The weather forecast to midnight tonite for all of Tonga is for moderate to fresh northeast winds over Tongatapu, 'Eua and Ha'apai. Elsehwere, light to moderate northeast winds. Mostly cloudy with some showers with heavy falls expected over most places.
The outlook for Thursday is for moderate east to northeast winds all over the group, mostly cloudy with showers over most places.