Results for Natural events

Cyclone relief goods are being stored for free by a local company, Dateline Transam Shipping and their partner Pacific Direct Line, valued at more than TOP$20,000 in support of Tonga Red Cross.

NASA will launch a powerful and advanced weather satellite named GOES-S on Thursday 1 March from Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, enabling more accurate and reliable weather forecasts and severe weather outlooks over most of the Western Hemisphere, including the Pacific.

In the wake of Cyclone Gita, some banks and financial institutions in Tonga are making it easier for the flow of remittances coming into Tonga, and to obtain housing loans, to help people get their lives back to normal.

The handing over of $3 million pa’anga in Emergency Assistance from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency JICA, to Tonga was completed yesterday, 23 February at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Vaololoa, Nuku'alofa.

Two severely injured cyclone victims remain stable in Vaiola Hospital today. A man, 'Ofila Havea, suffered a severe spinal injury at Popua, and a woman, Ying Wang, sustained severe head injuries at Ma'ufanga, during Tropical Cyclone Gita on the night of February 12.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given $6 million to Tonga for early recovery activities following the destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Gita last week. Rehabilitation costs for electricity, water and sanitation, schools, and other sectors are likely to be very significant, said Hon Poasi Tei, Acting Minister for Finance and National Planning.

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.

Many people are living in evacuation centres on Tongatapu today after 119 homes were completely destroyed and 1131 partially damaged by Tropical Cyclone Gita, initial assessment reports revealed today, February 14. Damage figures are expected to rise. Reports from outer islands are still coming in.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Gita is forecast to hit Tonga with up to Category 4 force winds from tomorrow morning, Monday February 12, according to the latest forecast from the Nadi Tropical Cyclone Centre in Fiji. Tongans are handicapped in their preparations for the storm as strict sabbatical laws prevent Sunday trading for emergency supplies. At 4:30pm today the capital, Nuku'alofa remains quiet and sleepy. Tonga Met officers said this afternoon that if the cyclone speeds up from its present slow moving approach it might arrive earlier. A hurricane warning remains in place for most of Tonga. Tonga should be on high alert until the storm passes on Tuesday morning.