Results for Natural events

Unsettled weather continues to affect Tongatapu this weekend as a strong wind warning remains in force for the main island and ‘Eua land areas, due to Tropical Depression 12F located 30km northwest of Nuku’alofa at 3:00pm today Friday, February 17.

Warnings of heavy rain, flash flooding, and strong to gale force winds for all of Tonga tonight, have been issued by Tonga Met as a tropical depression located around 465km west, northwest of Nuku’alofa is moving slowly toward Tonga.

Unusually low tropical cyclone activity since November means that February is expected to be the month with the hottest temperature for Tonga and the most likely month for tropical cyclones, according to Tonga's Met office.

The tsunami threat from a Fiji earthquake today has now passed, the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Ceter in Hawaii, has advised. Fiji coastal areas were warned following a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, at 11:53pm local Fiji time today. Tonga Met advised there was no threat for Tonga.

Tonga could expect two to three cyclones this season, and Tonga Met says there's a chance that at least one of them could be a Severe Tropical Cyclone (Category 3 and above). The current cyclone season began on 1 November and runs through to the end of April 2017.

Twenty-five participants joined an Emergency Shelter Kits Training from September 7-9 in Nuku'alofa aimed to build capacity on the use of emergency shelter during emergencies, disasters and recovery period.

Exceptionally heavy, unseasonal rainfall fell across Tongatapu on June 10-11 causing flooding in Nuku’alofa, and turning the capital into a city of lakes, during what is supposed to be the “dry season”. Fua’amotu recorded 273.1mm of rainfall in the 24 hours between 1:00pm Friday and 1:00pm Saturday, according to Tonga Met., a record rainfall for a single day in the month of June.

Tropical Cyclone Amos is still intensifying and on its current track is expected to reach Category 3 strength by 1:00pm Saturday April 23 and lie about 300km north of Niuafo’ou or about 385km North Northwest of Niuatoputapu. Strong winds may affect Niuafo’ou land area from early Saturday morning and Niuatoputapu land area from late Saturday to Sunday. Gale force winds are expected over open waters to the north of the two Niuas from tomorrow morning and Sunday, advises Tonga Met.

A storm warning for Tongatapu, ‘Eua and Ha’apai was cancelled at 2:45pm this afternoon by the Fua’amotu Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre, but strong winds may still be experienced this evening. The fast moving Tropical Cyclone Zena (Cat. 1) that was approaching Tonga from the West this morning has been downgraded from Category 2 to Category 1 by Tonga Met this afternoon.