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Cyclone season has started and Tonga isn't ready

November 4, 2018

The battered county is still recovering from cyclone Gita nine months ago.

As the Pacific cyclone season gets underway there are fears Tonga will not be able to cope with another battering. The Kingdom's still suffering after cyclone Gita nine months ago, and many people are still homeless.


Solo mother of five, Lucy Kupu lost everything including her home. Minoru Nishi is Lucy's boss, he helped arrange a tent for the family.
Mrs Kupu couldn't get government help, so her employer then roped in friends and charities to build her a new home.


“The second night it rained so hard I did what I could to encourage my kids that it’s not the end of the world,” she recalls.


While his farming and export business was hit hard by cyclone Gita Mr Nishi is more concerned for his staff.


“Not a night goes by without thinking what is coming, what could be coming, and to be honest we are not prepared yet,” he says.


Minoru Nishi's sister, Telumi, has taken in eighteen-year-old Kalo Tukia, who lost her home and was sleeping in an old parked car with her family.


Ms Nishi has given Kalo a job at Nishi trading, so she can support her younger siblings. The business also employed students fundraising to repair their cyclone damaged school and seasonal workers from struggling areas.


Another Nishi worker depending on his paycheck to help his family is farm manager Mateo Lautaimi. He lost his home in the cyclone, and three months later his wife.


“My wife was stressed and had high blood pressure. She passed away three months after the cyclone, but I think part of it is was the impact of the cyclone,” he said.


And so, Tonga’s recovery is still a work in progress.


“We need technical support, we need government support to really work as a group collectively to address some of these bigger challenges as a country,” say Mr Minoru.

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