Tonga\u00a0declared a state of emergency Monday and imposed a curfew in the capital Nuku’alofa as the Pacific island kingdom braced for a direct hit from Severe Tropical Cyclone Gita.<\/p>\n
The cyclone has already created havoc in neighbouring Samoa and is threatening to become a Category Five superstorm as it approaches\u00a0Tonga.<\/p>\n
Acting Prime Minister Semisi Sika issued a nationwide alert, saying he was "satisfied that an emergency is happening or is about to happen".<\/p>\n
The Fiji Meteorological Service predicts Gita will become a Category Five storm – the top of the scale – before reaching\u00a0Tonga\u00a0Monday night.<\/p>\n
It is already packing gusts of 275 kmh (170 mph) as it sits off the east coast of the country’s most populous island\u00a0Tongatapu.<\/p>\n
Truckloads of troops were helping people batten down as the capital prepared for the cyclone and evacuation centres were opened across the kingdom.<\/p>\n
Police also announced an overnight curfew in central Nuku’alofa "to further protect people and property".<\/p>\n
Path of Cyclone Gita<\/aside>\n
"We are urging people to seek refuge from this severe cyclone that could be the most powerful in the country’s history," said police commissioner Stephen Caldwell.<\/p>\n
Tonga’s Fua’amotu Weather Forecasting Centre warned residents could expect "very destructive hurricane-force winds".<\/p>\n
Gita slammed into Samoa overnight Friday, forcing the evacuation of some 200 people and causing widespread flooding, leaving many without power.<\/p>\n
Philip Duncan, chief forecaster at New Zealand’s Weather Watch service, said current modelling showed it was lining up to hit\u00a0Tongatapu directly.<\/p>\n
"That’s a very serious situation, the capital is there, there’s over 75,000 people," he said.<\/p>\n
"It’s pretty rare to see the perfect circle, the centre of that storm, going right over the top of such a small island."<\/p>\n
Duncan said the cyclone could cause major damage even if it remained offshore.<\/p>\n
"If it moves just a little bit north or south it may not make technical landfall but it’s severe weather, winds up to 230 kmh, waves over 10 metres at sea and a storm surge over a metre on top of that," he said.<\/p>\n
The information ministry advised anyone considering moving to the shelters to leave early, saying travel would not be possible when the eye of the storm passes over.<\/p>\n
Otherwise people should stay at home and ride out the wild weather, it said.<\/p>\n
"Every family should have an emergency kit packed in their homes," it warned.<\/p>\n
"Everyone should be mindful of what might cause damage within their homes such as large trees that can potentially damage a house."<\/p>\n