A survey by the Tonga National Emergency Office following the devastating Cyclone Gita in 2018 has revealed that many Tongans didn’t get critical warnings about the impending disaster because – they simply didn’t have a battery powered or solar radio.
“It showed that most of the houses did not have a radio for the reason they can’t afford one,” Director of the National Emergency Management NEMO Mafua Maka confirms.
“Radio is the main form of communication between the main island and the outer islands. The information broadcast on radio is to help people prepare before the cyclone makes landfall.”
And with the next Cyclone season on the horizon, authorities say a battery- or solar-powered radio should be top of your disaster survival list and are working to ensure they are available to highly vulnerable communities, especially the elderly and people with a disability.
“Guardians heavily rely on electronic radio but the power was turned off during the preparation process for safety reasons,” says Secretary General of Tonga Red Cross Society Sione Taumoefolau
“When the power was out, there was no sources of information provided and people with disabilities did not understand what was happening.”
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