Cyclone Gita: Tonga’s Parliament building destroyed as country is hit by worst storm in 60 years
Around 5,000 people have been staying at evacuation centres since Monday night.
The 100-year-old Parliament building in Tonga – a kingdom of 170 islands in the South Pacific region of Oceania – was destroyed on Tuesday after a storm hit the country. Tropical Cyclone Gita, measured as a Category 4 Storm, is said to be the most powerful storm to hit the island nation in the last 60 years.
Power supply was hit in Tonga and roofs of many houses were torn off in the high winds. The storm that made landfall in Tonga on Monday night also damaged several churches. More than 5,000 people are staying at evacuation centers and a state of emergency was declared in the island, AP reported.
While New Zealand has donated $545,000 (Rs 3.50 crore) in aid to Tonga, Australia said it will donate $275,000 (approximately Rs 1.76 crore) worth of emergency shelter and hygiene kits to the island nation. A New Zealand Air Force Hercules aircraft will fly to the nation on Tuesday to supply emergency relief supplies, Reuters reported.
Cyclone #Gita is now moving away from #Tonga. It is the strongest cyclone to pass so close to the main islands of Tonga in the modern record (at least 60 years). pic.twitter.com/oqWtovKKWk
— Met Office Storms (@metofficestorms) February 12, 2018
Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, said the Royal Australian Air Force would fly the aid to Tonga on Tuesday night, ABC Australia reported. “We are sending life-saving equipment, emergency shelter, kitchen and hygiene kits.” Humanitarian relief material, including tarpaulins and water purification tablets, had been released through the Tongan Red Cross, she added.
The New Zealand government said it would take 12 tonnes of aid supplies and a 10-member team to the island nation to assess the damage.
Tropical Cyclone #Gita hit #Tonga today with the strength of a Category 4 hurricane, the #Himawari8 geostationary satellite captured the path of the storm over the past 24 hours. Learn more about our international satellite partners in orbit here: https://t.co/SMSgTCxp0U pic.twitter.com/oefCA1fzZR
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) February 12, 2018
Cyclone Gita: Storm to pass directly over Fiji's Southern Lau group https://t.co/1Dv81M76YH
— Sally Round (@RoundSally) February 12, 2018
Cyclone Gita to move towards Fiji Islands
Gita is expected to move towards Fiji on Tuesday and intensify into a Category 5 storm. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama asked residents to heed warnings and prepare for the cyclone. However, weather experts have predicted that the storm will bypass heavily-populated areas, Reuters reported.
Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office said around 2,500 people living in two of Fiji’s islands were at risk, and asked the elderly and disabled people to move into evacuation centres, AP reported.