DAMAGE IN TONGA
Hurricane Loss £200,000 (N Z Press Association) AUCKLAND, April 28. It will be 1963 before food crops return to normal in Tonga. The hurricane last month devastated tapioca gardens and shattered groves of breadfruit and coconut trees. According to the Tonga Premier’s Office even 1963 is an optimistic date for a return to normal production. The March winds were the worst experienced by the islands for 20 years. In 36 hours from 10 p.m. on March 16. gale-force winds and heavy rain razed up to 70 per cent, of the buildings in villages of the group. Survey teams have estimated the damage at over £200.000. On Vava’u Island, the Tonga Copra Board anticipates only 2900 tons of copra this year, compared with an average of 5000 tons in each of the last five years. A central hurricane relief committee has drawn up a programme for ground crops to help to tide inhabitants of both areas over local food shortages which are predicted for mid-May. The Premier's Office states: “It is evident the people of Ha'apai and Vava’u are ‘ in for a fairly lean 18 months while their main source of income, copra, returns to anything like normal production.”
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Press, Volume C, Issue 29500, 29 April 1961, Page 13
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201DAMAGE IN TONGA Press, Volume C, Issue 29500, 29 April 1961, Page 13
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