The Tonga post-disaster rapid assessment was published. This assessment, undertaken with the support of the ACP-EU NDRR Program, enabled to assess damages and impact following Tropical Cyclone Gita in February 2018. The total economic value of the effects caused by TC Gita was estimated to be approximately T$356.1 million (US$164.1 million). This is equivalent to 37.8 percent of the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in Tonga.
In the context of the post-disaster response in Tonga following TC Gita, the WB team has leveraged the technology and best practices developed through another ACP-EU NDRR regional project: the UAV4Resilience – Utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Disaster Assessments in the Pacific Islands. Launched in January 2017, this project aims to develop the capacity and readiness of Fiji and Tonga in deploying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for disaster and climate risk assessments and rapid identification of damage to the physical environment in post-disaster situations. The project is being carried out in close collaboration with the Pacific Community (SPC), the Ministries of Land, Surveying, Natural Resources and Environment and the National Emergency Management Office for Tonga.