TC SARAI

The Tropical Cyclone Warning for Tonga is now cancelled.

The Fua'amotu Tropical Cyclone Warning Center was officially deactivated at 12pm today.

Tropical Cyclone Sarai had caused minor damage on Tonga's main island, Tongatapu, with some flooding in areas with poor drainage, fallen power lines, and flattened vegetation.

National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) director Mafua Maka told Matangi Tonga there were no injuries, deaths, or major damage reported.

The storm battered large areas of Fiji for three days but overnight the system moved on.

It is now over Tonga, though it has weakened considerably.

The Centre reports teams would be sent to the affected communities on Wednesday to fully assess Sarai's impact.

It said it had reports of damage to houses across all four divisions, with some homes completely demolished by the cyclone.

The Centre also said farms, as well as health and education facilities had also been damaged.

The cyclone has weakened to a category one storm, with forecasters saying Tongatapu can expect winds rising to gale force of up to 90 km/hr, with isolated thunderstorms.

Similar conditions are expected in the northern island groups of Vava'u and Ha'apai.

The seas around the main island are rough to very rough.

Sarai is predicted to weaken further later today, becoming a tropical depression. It is continuing to move east and is likely to bring gales and rain to Niue tomorrow.

Formerly a category two system, the cyclone has now been downgraded to category one, although it is still generating sustained winds of 85km/h with gusts reaching up to 120km/h.

Sarai's centre is expected to be about 90km west of Nuku'alofa at 7am local time today.

The storm is moving east southeast at 12km/h.

Authorities in Tonga are urging all islands to be prepared as the cyclone's track could change at any moment and mariners are strongly advised not to venture out to sea especially in smaller fishing boats.

The charging stations are set up daily at the following Digicel stores: Digicel Cumming Street Store (9 am – 5 pm), Digicel MHCC (9 am – 8 pm), Digicel Damodar City (9 am – 8 pm), Digicel Nadi Store (9 am – 4 pm), Digicel Lautoka Store (9 am – 4 pm), Digicel Sigatoka Store (9 am – 4 pm) and Digicel Labasa Store.

 The Category 2 storm battered Fiji's southern Lau group last night - winds of up to 170 km/hr.

Two people have died during Sarai in Fiji, where the body of a man was found after he went missing in a river during the storm, and another drowned while swimming.

A third person has been hospitalised after being hit by a falling tree.

More than 2000 people remain in the 54 evacuation centres.

Many people across parts of the Central, Western and Northern Divisions have been without power supply since Friday night.

Two people have died during Sarai in Fiji, where the body of a man was found after he went missing in a river during the storm, and another drowned while swimming.

A third person has been hospitalised after being hit by a falling tree.

At it's centre, Sarai's winds are reaching up to 120 kilometres per hour, with some gusts to 170 kilometres per hour.

The cyclone is predicted to make landfall over the Vava'u island group on Monday or Tuesday, as a category one storm.