SUVA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The South Pacific island nation of Tonga is now in recovery mode after Cyclone Harold struck the nation on Thursday.
Tonga has since announced a second State of Emergency to deal with the cyclone, having already declared one last month as a COVID-19 precaution.
Tropical cyclone Harold battered Tonga as the storm, packing gusts of up to 260 km per hour and passing to the south of Nuku'alofa, the capital city, after devastating the central islands of Vanuatu and many parts of Fiji from early this week.
Witnesses said that heavy rain and strong winds were felt in Nuku'alofa, and a lot of vegetation was damaged.
People in the island nation are expected to use the long Easter weekend to clean up the fallen trees and debris on the streets.
Meanwhile, in Fiji, which was devastated by cyclone Harold on Wednesday, the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) has deployed its Immediate Situation Overview (ISO) team to carry out assessment and verification on Kadavu, a southern island in Fiji.
Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said on Thursday that the damage caused by tropical cyclone Harold to Fiji was shocking.
It is reported that 26 Fijians were injured during tropical cyclone Harold, including one person severely hurt.
Energy Fiji Limited warned on Thursday that Fijians in most parts of the country will be without power during the Easter weekend as the company's team is still carrying out damage assessment.
For the South Pacific island nations like Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga, the tropical cyclone season extends between Nov. 1 and April 30 each year and the peak period for cyclone is usually from January to March. During this season, Fiji has been hit by several tropical cyclones.
In 2016, tropical cyclone Winston, the most intense tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere on record, battered Fiji, killing 44 people.
