Results for cyclone Gita

Tropical Cyclone Gita inflicted $356 million pa'anga worth of damage on Tongatapu and ‘Eua on 12 February this year, said Balwyn Fa’otusia, the CEO for the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. The damage assessment is equivalent to 38% of Tonga's GDP.

The Tonga Government today extended the current national State of Emergency to finish on 9 April. Tonga’s State of Emergency was first declared on 12 February – the day Cyclone Gita struck Tongatapu and ‘Eua.

A donation of computer equipment including laptops to the Tonga Parliament was announced by the Parliament of the State of Victoria in Australia, today as part of a coordinated effort with the United Nations Development Programme to assist Tonga in the wake of Cyclone Gita.

Ten days after Tropic Cyclone Gita struck Tongatapu and ‘Eua with a Category 4 cyclone on the night of 12 February, life is slowly getting back to normal on the islands. The National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) under the directorship of Leveni ‘Aho with the assistance of civil societies, civil servants and volunteers, is coping with the initial recovery stage from Gita.

Bank South Pacific (BSP) Tonga has donated $30,000 to Tonga Red Cross relief program to support the victims affected by Cyclone Gita. Sione Taumoefolau, Secretary Generale for Tonga Red Cross Society said “this will go a long way in assisting their work in hiring trucks to deliver aid to affected areas, feeding the volunteers and other needed support.”

Less than eight months after being officially re-opened, Nuku'alofa's Teufaiva Stadium has fallen back into disrepair with much of the stadium’s tin roofing torn off by Cyclone Gita on Monday night.

King Tupou VI urged Tongans to work with a cooperative spirit to rebuild their country after Cyclone Gita, in an address to the nation this evening, particularly mentioning the people of the worst-hit islands of Tongatapu and 'Eua. The first assistance to any hardship that happens in our country should come from us, he said.

Tonga's Prime Minister Hon. 'Akilisi Pohiva is back in Tonga, after travelling to New Zealand on February 5 for medical check-ups following an illness. "I'm fine!" he told Matangi Tonga this morning. Parliament will meet tomorrow at a central location to be decided.

The death toll is at one from severe Tropical Cyclone Gita on the night of Monday February 12, while three people suffering major injuries were admitted to Vaiola Hospital, in Nuku'alofa.