Donate now: Tubes for Tonga
As East Coast surfers buzz in anticipation for the fruit of Severe Tropical Cyclone Gita, Tongans are cleaning up the mess from a direct hit off the same system.
On Tuesday night STC Gita struck Tonga as a Category 5 cyclone with winds gusting up to 230km/h. It was the worst storm the island nation had experienced in the last 60 years.
Daybreak revealed the damage with 1,100 homes damaged in the capital Nuku'alofa alone, and 5,000 across the island. The Tongan Parliament house collapsed and power and other services were cut off.
Swellnet reader John White, whose wife works in Tonga (she's safe), has suggested that any surfer who benefits in some way from Gita, whether it be a solid session, a lone wave, or even just a bit of rubbernecking from the headland, consider those on the other side of Gita's ledger.
If you're on the social media tools then share your pledge, photos from the swell, or fundraising efforts with tag #tubesfortonga
Or you can simply buy some goodwill by donating to the Red Cross' Disaster Appeal.
All money donated goes toward recovery efforts in Tonga including water filtration, shelter, hygiene and cooking kits for use in emergencies.
Comments
This should become industry standard
I can't support red cross after that fiasco with Bali Bombings...is there any other funding link. This is a disaster.
Mick,what happened with the Redcross/Bali bombings?
Done. $5 for every wave scored - would be $10 if I managed a barrel. Brilliant idea thanks John / Swellnet. Red Cross has obviously done some major good over the years, but also a few controverical things. Another option is Care - don't know about disaster relief but they run effieicient development projects. https://www.care.org.au/appeals/cyclone-gita/
Thanks Boater, and thanks for the reminder about the Bali fiasco MF. Hopefully Oz red cross learned some lessons since then. Good call about CARE - Oxfam is also taking donations for Gita response and do great work in the pacific (although allegations re. sexual exploitation in Haiti hasn't helped their reputation in recent days either).
Weekend on the far south coast was undersized, but still fun four foot peaks with light winds. I reckon I got 20 good waves, so will be donating $20 a pop :)
Thanks again to Stu and the team at Swellnet for supporting relief efforts in Tonga!