Heta heads for Niue after pounding Samoa

[senorpepr]

Tropical Cyclone Heta is charging towards the tiny Pacific island nation of Niue with wind gusts of up to 300 kilometres per hour (185mph) after lashing Samoa, damaging houses, destroying crops and cutting electricity supplies and telephone services.

New Zealand's deputy high commissioner in Niue, Tony Fautua, said most of the 1,300 islanders were bunkered down in their homes waiting for the storm to hit.

"It's Monday morning here and supposed to be the first day for opening for government offices and many businesses after the New Year holidays, but given the situation, everyone is going to be staying home and keeping safe," he said.

Fautua said the experience of Cyclone Ofa in 1990, which led to a state of emergency on Niue but no loss of life, had made local people more confident about facing Heta.

"There have been some more recent cyclones, but Ofa was an experience nobody had had before, and it has made them more resilient and able to adjust."

New Zealand MetService forecaster Liz McLaughlin said Tonga was reporting gale force winds but that Heta was moving more towards Niue where a hurricane warning was in force.

"It has deepened a little bit since yesterday and winds close to the centre are now estimated to be about 215kph with momentary gusts to 300kph," she said.

McLaughlin described Heta as one of the most intense cyclones in the region for some time, although there were indications it could start to weaken in the next 24 hours.

"But it is a very gradual process and that's too late for Niue."

States of emergency were declared in Samoa and American Samoa although the hurricane warnings were lifted as Heta swept south.

Many of the Samoan islands remained without power Monday and several roads were impassable, either cut by streams or blocked by rocks which had been ripped out of sea walls and tossed inland by raging surf.

There were reports one person had been swept out to sea on the Samoan island of Upolu but officials said there had been no deaths reported.

Although the hurricane warning has been lifted, air and sea travel between Samoa and American Samoa remained cancelled with services not expected to be restored until Tuesday.

At Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa, part of the roof was ripped off the terminal building, the Samoa Air hangar was ripped apart, and nearly all the airport shops were damaged.

Dozens of people had to be evacuated from flooded coastal areas as waves up to eight metres high crashed ashore, swamping houses.

The Samoa Broadcasting Corporation reported extensive damage to houses with many losing their rooves and some hit by falling trees and coconut and banana plantations were flattened.

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Wow!! Sounds like they were pretty lucky. I cant imagine a storm of that magnitude

[senorpepr]

No kidding... the only news I heard out of Pago Pago is some minor damage. Some reports say one death... this report says none. Hopefully it's the latter of the two. I'll keep checking on other reports...

[senorpepr]

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Jan. 6) - At least one person was reported killed following a powerful cyclone that sideswiped Samoa yesterday.

Officials said the victim was washed out to sea as waves whipped up by cyclone Heta pounded Samoa’s main islands of Upolu.

According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, the storm yesterday afternoon was about 135 nautical miles west-southwest of Pago Pago, the capital of neighboring American Samoa, moving southwest at about 10 knots per hour.

Winds were estimated at 140 knots per hour with seas up to 45 feet.

Meteorologists in Samoa yesterday reported gusts of 100 kilometers still pounding the island as it moved away.

Disaster officials in Samoa today were trying to assess the extent of damage.

Coastal villages on the main island of Savai'i narrowly missed the full force of the cyclone, which whipped up five-meter seas.

Villagers moved to higher ground as houses were unroofed, trees uprooted and power lines brought down. The cyclone also closed a number of roads, making it difficult for officials to reach some areas.

Meanwhile, the island nation of Niue was bracing itself for the approaching cyclone. The Fiji Meteorological Center issued a tropical cyclone alert for Niue, predicting that on its current path, it could hit Niue in the next 24-hours.

Fiji's Meteorological Service has issued a warning to mariners in the northern part of Tonga and Niue to expect hurricane force winds within 30 nautical miles of the cyclone center.

The storm was expected to miss Fiji but was generating heavy swells

In Pago Pang, high school football players from Hawaii were reportedly riding out the storm in their hotel rooms. According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the team was in American Samoa for a week’s visit and a New Year’s Day game, which was cancelled.

Coastal residents in American Samoa meanwhile were packing up and moving inland ahead of Cyclone Heta sweeping through the area.

At Poloa, a family of four managed to pack two suitcases of belongings before fleeing as their beach house was washed away.

Three people were washed out to sea at Fagasa, but managed to make it safely back to shore as families in coastal areas were advised to move to higher ground with the situation expected to worsen.

Pago Pago International Airport is closed.

Cyclone Heta is expected to continue southeast towards the islands of northern Tonga and Niue by late Tuesday.

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Thanks for the update mike. Not something I would wanna go through