{"id":400958,"date":"2018-02-13T07:55:01","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T07:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=400958"},"modified":"2018-02-13T07:55:01","modified_gmt":"2018-02-13T07:55:01","slug":"tonga-parliament-building-flattened-cyclone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/tonga-parliament-building-flattened-cyclone\/","title":{"rendered":"Tonga parliament building flattened by cyclone"},"content":{"rendered":"
The parliament building in the Pacific country of Tonga has been destroyed by the worst storm to hit the country in more than 60 years.<\/p>\n
Cyclone Gita, a category four storm, battered the island overnight and caused widespread damage.<\/p>\n
Electricity lines were downed and roofs were torn off houses by the high winds.<\/p>\n
The government declared a state of emergency before the storm hit, and set up evacuation centres where thousands of people stayed overnight.<\/p>\n
“The wind was terrifying. It was roaring overhead. We could hear roofs being lifted,” witness Mary Fonua told Radio New Zealand.<\/p>\n
“I could see the people across the road, their roof was flapping around the house, it was trying to disintegrate. I think a lot of people were very desperate last night.”<\/p>\n
The UK Met Office said the storm – which brought winds of more than 200km\/h (124mph) – was the strongest to hit the main islands of Tonga since modern records began.<\/p>\n
Tonga is made up of more than 170 islands, and is located in the Pacific Ocean east of Fiji and north of New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Tonga’s parliament building is more than 100 years old. It is not yet clear where MPs will sit while it is being repaired.<\/p>\n
One MP, Lord Fusitu’a, told ABC News that the damage was “a great disappointment”.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Successive legislatures over the years have suggested building a new parliament house and I guess that’ll be a necessity now,” he said.<\/p>\n
Gita is expected to intensify into a category five storm – the highest level – on Tuesday as it moves towards Fiji.<\/p>\n
But experts predict it will miss the country’s most densely populated areas.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The parliament building in the Pacific country of Tonga has been destroyed by the worst storm to hit the country in more than 60 years. Cyclone Gita, a category four storm, battered the island overnight and caused widespread damage. Electricity lines were downed and roofs were torn off houses by the high winds. The government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":400959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[17027,17026],"yoast_head":"\n