Before the cyclone, Pangai the main town on Lifuka Island. Ha'apai, Tonga. Photo by Mary Lyn Fonua.

One person died on LIfuka as Tropical Cyclone Ian Category 5 ripped through the Ha‘apai Islands yesterday afternoon, causing extensive devastation, although the full extent of the impact on the low lying islands is unknown after Tonga's first recorded Category 5 cyclone.

Sione Taumoefolau head of the Tonga Red Cross said early this morning that because of a lack of communications around midday yesterday, the extent of the devastation was not immediately clear to the NEMO meeting that was held with donor partners who were offering surveillance aircraft and support services, which were on standby yesterday. He understood that the government was trying to accept that now.

The cyclone was hitting Ha‘apai at the time and the communications networks went down.

Sione is now communicating by satellite phone to the Red Cross in Ha‘apai.

He said from what has been reported he believes that the main island of Lifuka was devastated, and there was one death there.

The Governor of Ha‘apai from his office at Pangai reported that he could see from one side of the island to the liku on the others side of the island “and that's how devastated it is.”

He believed the main islands of the area Ha‘ano Lifuka and Foa are all devastated and that there could also be damage to the new causeway and foreshore at Foa.

There were reports of roads blocked with broken trees and debris.

Sione said that the Tonga Red Cross had a project last year to maintain containers of supplies in most of the islands, so he was happy that at least they have a start at relief.

The Tonga navy's VOEA patrol boat was due to leave the capital at 8:00am for Ha‘apai, and a second patrol boat was on its way from Vava‘u, he said.

Worst damage

 Digicel Tonga’s Tupou Ahomee Faupula said they have a satellite phone connection to their field officer Uaisele Fonokalafi, at Pangai Ha‘apai.

“He told us that this was the worst ever damage from a cyclone - most houses are flattened, roofs are off, trees and power lines are down.”

Digicel, one of Tonga's two cell phone providers, is trying to restore services to their tower and expects to get a team to Ha‘apai this afternoon.

Tongatapu

Cat. 5 Ian side-stepped, Tonga's heavily populated main island of Tongatapu, which  escaped unscathed during the night as Ian moved south west. There was little rain.

The Fua'amotu Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre said the maximum wind speed recorded during the night for Tongatapu was 32 knots from the south west recorded at the airport. The gales warning was cancelled at 7:00am today as Ian moved away to the southwest.

'Aisea 'Akau'ola, duty forecaster, said they believed it was the first Category 5 cyclone in Tongan waters. “There was one in 1961 that our chief met officer thought might have been category 5 but that was before we used this system.”

“Ian is still a category 5 this morning but we can tell that it is shearing, and we are lucky that it is moving away at 11 knots.”

He said the high level vertical wind shear could weaken the hurricane. “If not it would remain strong.”

Tonga Met has recorded Ian as a category 5 from 1:00am on Saturday January 11 at 18.2S / 174.9W near Late Island in Vava‘u, he said.