SUVA, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Tropical cyclone Gita hit the South Pacific Island state of Tonga overnight Monday, causing extensive damages.
According to Radio New Zealand on Tuesday, tropical cyclone Gita destroyed Tonga's parliament house, as well as homes and churches. The roof of the Tonga Weather Office on the main island of Tongatapu, which hosts the capital city of Nuku'alofa, has been ripped off with equipment affected and offices evacuated.
A lot of landmark buildings in Nuku'alofa has been severely damaged and Tonga's national radio station is also off air. Power has also been cut off for 75,000 residents in the capital city.
There are unconfirmed reports of two deaths in the island state.
To help prevent loss of life and damage to property, Tonga declared a state of emergency on Monday, under which a curfew was imposed in the central business district area of Nuku'alofa from 9:00 p.m. local time Monday night until 7:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Tonga also began cleaning up the damages brought by tropical cyclone Gita which has also slammed Samoa.
