VOA
14 Feb 2018, 10:06 GMT+10
Residents of Tonga are cleaning up after Tropical Cyclone Gita ravaged the Pacific island nation, even destroying the historic Parliament House, with winds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour Monday night.
The storm ripped trees out of the ground, tore roofs off houses and buildings, knocked down power lines and caused massive flooding in the capital, Nuku'alofa.
Even the Tongan Meteorological Service lost its roof, forcing it to hand over the job of issuing warnings about the cyclone to its counterpart in Fiji.
Storm damage closed the international airport, along with the Australian High Commission, which warned its citizens against traveling to the devastated kingdom.
The cyclone was intensifying and was forecast to hit some southern Fiji islands Tuesday night, though it was likely to miss Fiji's major population centers, including the capital, Suva.
On Tonga, acting Prime Minister Semisi Sika declared a state of emergency, urging residents to stay where they were to prevent injury and avoid further damage to property or the environment.
In this image made from a video, people stand near a house damaged by Tropical Cyclone Gita in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, Feb. 13, 2018.
New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said more than 5,000 people stayed in evacuation centers overnight during the storm. Several people were reportedly injured in the storm, and a 72-year-old man died of a heart attack, although it was unclear whether his death was related to Cyclone Gita.
New Zealand donated over $500,000 in emergency aid to Tonga and deployed a military aircraft with emergency supplies to the island. Australia also was sending a military aircraft filled with emergency supplies to the island.
More than 5,000 miles away in PyeongChang, South Korea, the most famous face of Tonga was competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Cross-country skier and Tongan flag bearer Pita Taufatofua, 34, followed the storm from South Korea and tried to make contact with friends and family.
On Tuesday morning, Taufatofua announced on social media that his family was safe.
Get a daily dose of North Korea Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to North Korea Times.
More InformationPHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and members of the city's historical commission have been sued by a group which ...
LANSING, Michigan: Michigan's Department of Natural Resources said by a wildfire in the state has burned through more than 3 ...
ISTANBUL, Turkey: In an interview with Reuters, Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, (IATA), said airlines are ...
SACRAMENTO, California: Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia, who had entered the United States through Texas, were transported to California ...
GRAND ISLE STATE PARK, Louisiana: Almost two years after Hurricane Ida struck the barrier island and destroyed most of its ...
YANGON, Myanmar - A regime court sentenced to death five people detained for their alleged involvement in a deadly August ...
LISBON, Portugal: Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive of Lufthansa, has said that as Portugal's government is still debating whether to sell ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were divided on Wednesday, with the technology and industrial sectors parting ways.Tech stocks ...
HOLLYWOOD, California: More than tripling the debut of its 2018 animated original predecessor, Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" opened ...
PARIS, France: European plane manufacturer Airbus is reported to be close to a record agreement to sell 500 narrow-body jets ...
TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan: DuPont, Chemours and Corteva have reached an agreement to pay $1.18 billion to resolve complaints of causing ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were directionless Tuesday as investors had little to digest ahead of next week's ...