Tonga warned of tsunami danger

The head of a review committee looking at Tonga's tsunami warning system said the Pacific island kingdom's capital of Nuku'alofa is at great risk if a tidal wave strikes.

Ofa Fa'anunu, director of the Tonga Meteorological Service, said on Friday that the capital is located on a peninsula and it has an opening to the lagoon and the sea from the other side.

The capital is also low-lying and there are not many roads coming out of Nuku'alofa, he added.

Fa'anunu is in charge of the committee looking at possible changes to the way the kingdom prepares for a tsunami.

He said they are concerned about how to evacuate Nuku'alofa, where 70 percent of the population is situated.

Earlier this week, a magnitude-6.8 earthquake hit less than 200km from the capital, but no tsunami was generated.

The director said a challenge was trying to come up with a national action plan in a country of 170 scattered islands.

It was very difficult, he said. For instance, Niuatoputapu, the Tongan Island hit by a tsunami at the end of September, has no mains power.

At present, warnings are given over national radio.

Fa'anunu said planners are looking at the possibility of sirens-and plan a siren test project on Niuatoputapu, which borders Samoa.

The disaster committee is now finalizing its evacuation maps, intending to show citizens safe places they could reach with 15 to 20 minutes warning.

Source: Xinhua