Impact
Cyclone Heta caused around $110 to $150 million (2004 USD) in damage and one fatality in its path across Tonga, Niue, Samoa, and American Samoa.
During its early stages, Heta brought heavy rains and light winds but caused little or no damage. In Wallis and Futuna, however, high winds knocked out power and there was minor to moderate damage to buildings and crops. In Tonga, Heta's strong winds damaged houses and caused severe crop damage, mostly to breadfruit, mango, tava and bananas. In Tafahi and Niuatoputapu, 50-100% of the homes and buildings were destroyed by the cyclone's powerful, Category 5 winds. However, because of advanced warnings, there were no deaths or injuries. Structural damage in Tonga amounted to $160,000 (2004 USD).
In Niue, a weather station recorded a barometric pressure of 945 millibars before it became inoperable. The capital city of Alofi, which took the brunt of the storm, was devastated as most of the commercial and financial areas were wiped out by the high winds. Damage to communications and electronic infrastructure was also great as the storm damaged a satellite dish and disabled 75% of Niue's computer database. The storm surge brought by Heta left two people dead. In all, the storm caused over $85 million (2004 NZD) in damage on the island, five times its 2003 GDP of $17 million.
In Apia, Samoa, the heavy rains brought by Heta caused isolated reports of flooding. Heta's storm surge also closed down or washed out several roads. In Savai'i, the cyclones winds damaged powerlines, which made communications with the city difficult. In American Samoa, two weather stations reported winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) with gusts of 115 mph (185 km/h). The high winds destroyed over 600 homes and damaged 4,000 others. Offshore, the storm brought waves up to 44 feet (13 m) high along the north and western part of the island. The combination of rough surf and storm surge damaged or destroyed many boats near Swains Island. Although no deaths were reported in Samoa, the storm managed to injure 20 people and leave between $50–150 million (2005 USD) in damage.
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