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Top officials from Tonga's Ha'apai group say infrastructure is in urgent
need of repair in the islands after Cyclone Tino swept past overnight.
The storm brought winds of up to 180 km/hr and torrential rain but it
had weakened and moved out of the area and cyclone warnings had now
ceased.
There had been no reported casualties or deaths from the storm but many areas in Ha'apai remained without power today.
Ha'apai MP Veivosa Taka said the main priority was getting power restored.
"First to connect the electrics; second, advice for the people to
recover the crops, ( all the crops are damaged); and also to fix the
main roads," he said.
Ha'apai Governor, the Reverend Mohenoa Puloka, said people from seaside
settlements had been moved to evacuation centres last night.
"We had used the church halls throughout the villages and now the people
have gone back to their homes as it's calmed down this morning but we
have had a very severe night."
However he said food and water would not be an issue as the local committee had done a lot of work before the storm.
"Since they have done their preparation, they have set up food storage
so no one is left out, everyone has got enough food and water."
In 2014, Cyclone Ian had devastated Ha'apai with one person being killed, dozens injured and thousands left homeless.
The governor said the long rebuild and recovery from that storm had meant the islands fared better when Cyclone Tino hit.
"Most of the shelters were blown away by the last cyclone so the rebuild
was good so the damage was limited to the road and the foreshore, the
seaside."
Veivosa Taka agreed homes were now stronger so the damage to buildings had been minimal.
He also said the people were lucky the storm wasn't as slow-moving as Cyclone Ian.
"Ian was very slow but Tino was very fast to pass Ha'apai. If [it]
slowed to 20 km/hr then there would be damages in Ha'apai but it is very
fast to move."
But Mr Taka said the main roads in the group were in bad shape.
The storm surge had caused the biggest issues with the causeway
connecting the two large islands of Lifuka and Foa needing to be fixed
urgently.
"There's only one road that connects the airport in Lifuka, that's where
the seat of government is. Almost 50 percent of the population of these
two islands, they live in Foa," said Governor Mohenoa Puloka.
He said work on the causeway would begin on Monday.
Tonga's Minister of Disaster Management, Poasi Tei, released a statement
saying he welcomed the news from Ha'apai that there were no deaths.
"That is great news.
"We are grateful to all those who worked around the clock to help
prepare the people for the cyclone and for them to take action
accordingly," he said.
Mr Tei said there were reports of damage to infrastructure on parts of
Vava'u as well and the agriculture sector again faced challenges after
the storm.
The Minister said teams from Tonga Power and the Ministry of Infrastructure had been put into action.
Meanwhile survey teams will be going out tomorrow around Ha'apai and Vava'u to carry out further assessments.
The Chief Executive for the Ministry of Disaster Management, Paula Ma'u,
said teams from Tongatapu would also be sent to the two islands to
assist.
The National Emergency Management Committee is scheduled to meet again tomorrow to finalise recovery efforts.
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