Tuesday,Jan 6, 2004 CYCLONE HETA RAVISHES NIUE
		Tuesday, Jan.6, 2004 cyclone Heta ripped through the small island of Niue while we were in Aukland enjoying a visit with our daughters,Amanda and Guinevere and anticipating the arrival of our third daughter, Ariel. When we heard the news we rushed for a newspaper. The satistics were not good.         Winds up to 275km and waves measuring as high as 50 meters ravaged the little island nation. 200 of the 1700 people still living on Niue are now homeless. 2 people are dead and many more injured, some critically. Buildings up to 100 meters inland were destroyed by the wind and waves. The new hospital, finished only one year ago is now gone. The dinghy lift shown on our Niue page was ripped out of its concrete base and thrown out to sea. The beautiful forests we hiked through - torn to shreds. The devastation was horrific. While the government and people of New Zealand came to the rescue as soon as possible it will take many months before this small island will resemble anything close to normal.  We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit Niue when we did and our prayers go out to each and every person that we met there. We wish them and their families the very best for a rapid recovery.