Tsunami warning remains [1]
Sunday, February 28, 2010 - 12:25. Updated on Sunday, May 25, 2014 - 22:01.
A tsunami warning remains in force for Tonga, though its expected arrival time 8.40am has passed, and there is a sense of optimism that the tsunami may have weakened its power by the time it reaches Tonga. Meanwhile, hundreds of Tongan families headed for higher ground at dawn this morning, with many choosing the grounds of the king's villa and the surrounding areas at Mata-ki-'Eua.
From when the first Tsunami warning was declared by the National Emergency Managament Office at 1.15 am this morning, February 28 to dawn, before 6 am, the two back roads leading to the hilltop at Mata-ki-'Eua, the closest highest point to the 20,000 residents of Nuku'alofa was congested with traffic as people were rushing to higher ground before the arrival of the Tsunami which was estimated to arrive in Tonga from the east-south-east at 8.40 am.
Church bells were still ringing for the early Sunday morning church services before dawn, but most churches later made radio announcements deferring their morning services and mass to the afternoon.
By sunrise the about 2000 people who had secured a place on higher ground in the surrounding area of Mata-ki-'Eua had set up camps or were taking a nap on mats beside their vehicles, while children who could not quite make out what was all the fuss was about, continued to play and enjoy a breakfast of mangoes.
A near full moon was just setting to the west and the sun was rising in the east, and though overcast but there was a east-south-east wind at 15-20 knots.
The 8.40 am predicted arrival time of the tsunami came and went, however, the No. 12 tsunami warning at 10.36 am from the Tonga Meteorological Office maintained the tsunami alert warning.