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Tropical cyclone Ian hits Tonga: Increased interoperability
between emergency response agencies
On January 10th 2014, the Category 5 Tropical
Cyclone Ian hit the Ha'apai islands, Tonga with winds
over 200 kilometres per hour and gusts around 300
km per hr. The most powerful storm ever recorded
in Tongan waters displaced thousands, caused one
death, and resulted in significant damage to crops and
infrastructure, such as houses, rainwater tanks and
electricity supply lines. Seventy percent of the islands
of Pangai, Mo’unga’one and Foa were damaged and
required emergency assistance.
The Tongan emergency services responded in a co-
ordinated multi-agency effort with the Tonga Fire and
Emergency Service (TFES), His Majesty’s Armed Forces
and the Tonga Police personnel who were deployed
using equipment from the National Emergency
Management Office (NEMO). Fallen trees, corrugated
iron rooftops, and debris were cleared and water
pumped out of flooded areas.
Heavy rain also caused significant flooding in low-
lying areas on the main island of Nuku’lofa. For the
first time, NEMO and TFES officers set up high volume
diesel pumps and kilometres of hose to drain water
from residential areas. This allowed residents to
return to normal life, rather than having to wait for
natural evaporation, thereby significantly reducing
the threat of waterborne diseases.
This collaboration between Tongan emergency
services is the result of ongoing collaboration between
organisations initiated in early 2013 by the SPC Pacific
Island Emergency Management Alliance (PIEMA)
project, funded by the European Union. Anthony
Blake, PIEMA Officer of SPC says that 'the challenge
is for the Tongan Fire and Emergency Services to
broaden their role into disaster response'.
Work continues with the Tongan emergency
services with the objective to improve capability and
operational systems so that disaster management
is more effective in reducing impacts of natural and
technological hazards leading to disasters. The next
step for the project is to revise a Memorandum of
Understandingwith theSouthAustralianMetropolitan
Fire Services to include: emergency management
technical assistance; exchange of expertise and
personnel; and sourcing equipment to NEMO and the
Tonga Fire and Emergency Service.
Tonga Fire & Emergency Services, Ha’apai Island
Atenisi (Kolomotu’a Suburb) Tongatapu, TONGA
Tonga Fire & Emergency Services, NEMO, Tongataeapa