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Cyclone Gita has hit Tonga with a massive power bill. It will cost an estimated NZ$20 million to fix the cyclone damage to the power grid on Tongatapu and ‘Eua, said Seti Chen, Operations Manager for Tonga Power Ltd today. By Eleanor Gee and Linny Folau.

A fleet of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, or drones) have been transported to Tonga with the support of the Australian government, to provide a comprehensive visual assessment of the damage caused by Cyclone Gita, the World Bank reports today. Tonga has also received a payout of more than US$3.5 million from the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company – the first payout made by the insurance platform established in 2016.

Chief Justice Paulsen of the Tonga Land Court scolded the Minister of Lands Hon. Ma’afu in a ruling of a land dispute case on 5 February. The ruling dismissed a decision by the Minister of Lands to regrant land registration to an overseas based Tongan man. The man wanted to evict his niece who had been living on a town allotment in Fanga for more than 40 years.

UN agencies are applauding Tonga’s early warnings of Tropical Cyclone Gita to the community, saying it helped to reduce the impact on human lives after the islands of Tongatapu and ‘Eua were struck last week.

Photographs taken today around the eastern area of Tongatapu from Ha'ateiho up to Nukuleka, show extensive damage to homes, vegetation and schools caused by Tropical Cyclone Gita.

Seven men aged 20-35 years were arrested when a police operation seized unlicensed firearms, ammunition and cannabis.

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.

Police in Nukunuku are looking for two male suspects in their 20s who are alleged to have assaulted a 62-year-old woman on the head with a rock on Sunday afternoon, February 18.