Page 12 - IB January 2022

Outlook Outlook

TONGA’S RECOVERY EFFORT

By Samantha Magick could move around and stock up on supplies. Coordination
has been admirable considering we cannot get development
“The volcanic ash has settled into every crevice our lives workers on the ground… and Tongans are in high spirits driven
and we still sleep in fear of another eruption. Yet through the together to clean up and rebuild, inspired by our traditional
ash, panic and chaos, I saw hope.” leaders (our Royal family) and administration. There have
That was the testimony of Hon. Frederica Tuita, who de- been a few challenges, but the immediate response has been
scribed how many Tongans sought refuge at the Royal villa, well covered.
the highest point close to the Nuku’alofa town centre, during “Longer term recovery will be a feat. Development partners
the eruption of the Hunga-Ha’apai-Hunga-Tonga volcano on need to be conscious of the operational environment with
Saturday, 15 January. COVID19 and solutions need to be innovative for long term
“Their Majesties had kept the gates open for anyone seek- recovery as immediate response has been well covered,”
ing refuge from the tsunami wave and volcanic ash rain. The Tukuafu stresses.
entire estate had vehicles parked in it from back to front.
Families gathered on the porch, and we welcomed children Recovery efforts
and elderly into the dining room; the look of relief as grand- Tongans wasted no time in launching the recovery effort.
mothers closed their eyes sitting on soft seats brought us They swept clean the runway with hand brooms in order to
all comfort...Even from the hallway I could hear people and allow relief flights to land.
children coughing, mothers patting their children’s backs and More than 60 people from Mango have been relocated to
shushing softly to comfort them,” Hon. Tuita shared on her Nomuka after losing their homes and all of their personal be-
Facebook page. longings. They will likely now be relocated to Tongatapu due
The massive eruption sent a 20-kilometre-high mushroom to food and water shortages on Nomuka.
cloud into the atmosphere and literal shockwaves across the The biggest demand from communities is fresh drinking
region; Ash-fall and a tsunami from the volcanic eruption water; almost 60,000 litres have already been distributed. Sea
affected an estimated 84% of the Kingdom’s population. The transport had been hampered by the amount of debris and
Tongan Government has declared a State of Emergency until pumice in the ocean, which is damaging vessels.
13 February 2022. The impact on agriculture and ocean resources is still
The government has reported three official casualties: unclear, although the UN says 60 to 70% of livestock-rearing
Lataimaumi Lauaki, a 49-year-old female from Nomuka, Telai households “have seen their animals perish, grazing land dam-
Tutu’ila a 65-year-old male from Mango Island and a British aged, or water supplies contaminated…the agricultural sector
national, Angela Glovers. represents over 65% of the country exports.”
Perhaps the most astounding testimony to date has been Inter-island communication remains an acute challenge,
that of Lisala Folau from the island of Atata, who was washed reports the government. Limited telephone connections are
into the sea but managed to swim his way to safety to another now re-established, satellite and High Frequency (HF) Radio
island, despite being unable to walk properly. He shared his communication have been re-established; and plans are un-
story with local radio station Broadcom Broadcasting 87.5fm derway to set up a HF radio Station on Niuatoputapu. Limited
Nuku’alofa. international phone calls are now possible and communication
“We floated at sea, just calling out to each other. It was operators are working with Government to urgently restore
dark and we could not see each other. Very soon I could not full services. A vessel is also on the way to repair the fibre-
hear my niece calling any more, but I could hear my son call- optic cable that was severed by the tsunami. This repair work
ing. The truth is no son can abandon his father. But for me, will take several weeks.
as a father I kept my silence for if I answered him, he would Australian, New Zealand and Japanese relief flights have Ash from the Tongan eruption as photographed by astronauts on the International Space Station.
jump in and try to rescue me. But I understand the tough situ- made contact-less deliveries of supplies and helped conduct
ation and I thought if the worst comes, and it is only me.” aerial surveys.
Folau said the thought of his family kept him going- swim- The United Nations Coordination Specialist in Tonga, Sione
ming and walking to safety through sheer will-power. Hufanga says Tonga’s people are going to need sustained sup-
Salome Tukuafu is a dual Tongan and Fijian national cur- port responding to a disaster of this scale.
rently in Tonga on a development project. “The resources that we have in the ground are not enough”,
“It was a long night of uncertainty, with comfort from the he says. “We ought to always look at the situation and ask,
hymns being sung by those seeking refuge,” she wrote of the have we done enough, for this very small country, isolated in
night of the eruption. the Pacific islands?”
“Our government under this new PM were proactive with
emergency measures in place the very next day, so people editor@islandsbusiness.com

12 Islands Business, January 2022
12 Islands Business, January 2022