Tropical Cyclone Gita barreled through the Pacific island nation of Tonga, causing widespread flooding as it heads toward Fiji. The storm’s winds blew the roof off of Tonga’s meteorological service, damaging equipment. A powerful Category 4 cyclone tore through the Pacific island nation of Tonga early Tuesday, causing extensive flooding and downing power lines. Officials described Cyclone Gita as the most
powerful storm to ever hit Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa after it passed through shortly after midnight (1100 GMT). The storm hit the island with destructive sustained winds of around 233 kilometers per hour (142 miles per hour), damaging about 40 percent of the buildings in the capital. “It was a particularly bad night,” Graham Kenna, from the National Emergency Office, told Radio New Zealand. “I’ve been involved in disaster response for 30-plus years and it was the worst situation I’ve been in.” READ MORE
