10th April, 2020 The island of ‘Eua suffered the greatest impact from TC Harold according to an initial report from the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO).
Director of NEMO Mr Mafua Maka said, “The wharf has suffered serious damage and the road connecting ‘Ohonua to Tufuvai village has been completely destroyed. The electricity is cut off throughout the island and a number of houses thatched roofs had damaged or blown away.”
He said that a total of 180 people in ‘Eua moved to 11 evacuation centres across the island.
So far, there are no reports of any death or major injuries.
In Tongatapu, coastal areas were inundated with seawater due to sea surge. Beach resorts in the Western District were badly damaged by storm surge. No major damage to the infrastructure have been reported and the electricity have been restored in some areas.
Maka said that His Majesty’s Armed Forces, Tonga Police, Fire and Emergency Services and the Ministry of Infrastructure were “mobilized on the ground this morning to clear blockage in main passages.”
Ha’apai’s main wharf in Pangai, Foa causeway and the road in Holopeka were also damaged by the cyclone.
Meanwhile, seven National Assessment Teams led by NEMO and comprised of inter-agencies from government and NGOs were deployed yesterday evening to conduct initial damage assessment (IDA) following the deactivation of Fua’amotu Tropical Cyclone Warnings Centre at 6:00pm today.
The National Emergency Management Committee (NEMC) met last night to go over the initial reports from Tongatapu and the outer islands. Members also endorsed a request to the Minister of Police to allow Tonga Power Limited to mobilize its staff today (Easter Friday) to continue on restoring power supply in Tongatapu and ‘Eua.
The committee will meet again on Saturday morning April 11 to go over the clusters’ reports and the full IDA report.
ENDS
Issued by the: Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications.