The South Pacific island state of Tonga began assessing widespread damage Tuesday morning as Tropical Cyclone Rene moved out to open water after battering the region, according to dpa. "There's really been quite a bit of devastation," police chief Chris Kelley told Radio New Zealand from the capital Nuku'alofa, which was hit by the cyclone's 220-kilometre an hour winds and torrential rains on Monday evening. He said a meeting of the National Disaster Committee had been arranged to collate reports from all over the main island of Tongatapu and the outlying northern islands of Vava'u and Ha'apai, which were the first to experience the storm. Kelley said there was widespread damage to buildings and crops and 25 families had to be evacuated from their homes during the night, but there were no immediate reports of death or serious injuries. He said the population was well prepared, having had plenty of warning of the cyclone's advance. Electricity supplies were cut overnight and roads remained blocked by falling trees and power lines, but the extent of damage to the country's infrastructure was not immediately apparent. Communication links with the outside world, which were cut on Monday night, were restored early Tuesday.
