"Cyclone whips Tonga, damaging city" by Associated Press | February 16, 2010
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga - Tropical Cyclone Rene pounded Tonga with powerful winds overnight, severely damaging buildings in the capital city, downing trees, and cutting power and phone lines in the South Pacific island nation.
When phone service was restored early today, police said, they had no immediate reports of deaths or injuries directly linked to the storm, which has hammered the three main island groups of the kingdom for more than 24 hours.
“There’s a lot of damage. A lot of shops, restaurants, and offices in the city have lost their roofs, and a lot of houses are also damaged,’’ Inspector Tatiko Kanfusi said from Nuku’alofa on the main island of Tongatapu in the south of the kingdom.
“Lots of trees are down across roads, but it’s still dark and we’ll be starting to assess what’s happened after daybreak,’’ Kanfusi said.
Before losing contact, the Ha’apai island group, located in the center of the archipelago, faced “very destructive hurricane-force winds’’ with gusts of 143 miles an hour, the Meteorological Office said.
Heavy rains had flooded many areas, while powerful winds tore down banana palms and fruit from mango and breadfruit trees.
National Disaster Management Office deputy director Mali’u Takai said at one point yesterday it had become too dangerous to go outside.
“It’s so noisy, it’s like . . . a locomotive is running around,’’ he told National Radio.
Tonga, the South Pacific’s last kingdom, has a population of 101,000.--more--"
When was the last time Tonga was even mentioned in my MSM, readers?
So where did the storm go, Glob?
