Three months after volcanic eruption

Three months after volcanic eruption

Three months after volcanic eruption, Tonga slowly rebuilds

Samantha Moala recalls she was taking a shower at her home in Tonga when she heard what sounded like a gunshot so powerful it hurt her ears.
As she and her family scrambled to their car to drive inland, ash blackened the sky.
The world’s biggest volcanic eruption in 30 years sent a tsunami around the globe, and the first waves washed across the road as Moala drove to safety at the airport with her terrified husband and two sons.
In this photo supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, an Australian Defence Force MRH-90 Taipan helicopter provides aerial reconnaissance of Eua Island in Tonga  on Feb. 21, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by the tsunami and the nat
In this photo supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, an Australian Defence Force MRH-90 Taipan helicopter provides aerial reconnaissance of Eua Island in Tonga on Feb. 21, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by the tsunami and the nat (AP)
In this photo supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, a local man clears debris on Nomuka Island in Tonga Feb. 26, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by the tsunami and the nations first outbreak of COVID-19. (LSCSO Rye Huckel/Royal Au
In this photo supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, a local man clears debris on Nomuka Island in Tonga Feb. 26, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by the tsunami and the nations first outbreak of COVID-19. (LSCSO Rye Huckel/Royal Au (AP)
A volunteer with the Tonga Red Cross, Moala, 39, was soon attending to the cuts other people had suffered as they escaped and giving them psychological support.
She said about 50 of them stayed for two days at the airport until they got the all-clear to go back home.
“People were all shocked,” she said.
“But I got to mingle with them, help them, get them to be confident. It’s a small little island, and we got to know each other in two hours.”
Three months after the eruption, Tonga’s rebuilding is slowly progressing, and the impact of the disaster has come into clearer focus.
Last week, the prime minister handed over the keys to the first rebuilt home of the 468 the government plans to reconstruct across three islands as part of its recovery program.
Some 3,000 people whose homes were destroyed or damaged initially sought shelter in community halls or evacuation centres.
Eighty per cent of Tonga’s population was impacted in some way.
In this photo supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, a sailor from HMAS Supply clears debris on Nomuka Island, Tonga on Feb. 26, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by the tsunami and the nations first outbreak of COVID-19. (LSCSO Rye
In this photo supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, a sailor from HMAS Supply clears debris on Nomuka Island, Tonga on Feb. 26, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by the tsunami and the nations first outbreak of COVID-19. (LSCSO Rye (AP)
In this photo supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, a resident of Nomuka Island in Tonga clears debris on Feb. 26, 2022, following the Jan. 15 2022 eruption of the Hunga TongaHunga Ha'apai volcano and subsequent tsunami. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an intern
In this photo supplied by the Royal Australian Navy, a resident of Nomuka Island in Tonga clears debris on Feb. 26, 2022, following the Jan. 15 2022 eruption of the Hunga TongaHunga Ha’apai volcano and subsequent tsunami. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an intern (AP)
In the first few weeks after the eruption, Moala helped out by putting up tents and tarpaulins, and then by cooking food for other volunteers.
It took five long weeks for Tonga to restore its internet connection to the rest of the world after the tsunami severed a crucial fibre-optic cable.
That delayed some families from abroad from being able to send financial help to their loved ones.
Three people in Tonga died from the tsunami and a fourth from what authorities described as related trauma.
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of the damage on Nomuka in the Tonga island group on January 20 after the natural disaster.
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of the damage on Nomuka in the Tonga island group on January 20 after the natural disaster. (AP)
The sonic boom from the eruption was so loud it could be heard in Alaska and a mushroom plume of ash rocketed a record 58 kilometres into the sky.
The World Bank estimates the total bill for the damage is about $121 million.
In the small island nation of 105,000 people, that’s equivalent to more than 18 per cent of gross domestic product.
The bank noted that many coastal tourism businesses – which bring in vital foreign revenue for Tonga – were particularly hard hit, with tourist cabins and wharves destroyed.
The agriculture industry also suffered, with crops lost and reef fisheries damaged.
In this photo provided by Malau Media/IFRC, Tonga Red Cross Society's staff and volunteers unloading boxes of noodles from the boat into the beach in Nomuka on Ha'apai Island, Tonga on April 1, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by th
In this photo provided by Malau Media/IFRC, Tonga Red Cross Society’s staff and volunteers unloading boxes of noodles from the boat into the beach in Nomuka on Ha’apai Island, Tonga on April 1, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by th (AP)
In this photo provided by Malau Media/IFRC, Tonga Red Cross Society's staff and volunteers unloading boxes of water bottles from the boat into the beach in Nomuka Ha'apai Island, Tonga on April 1, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by
In this photo provided by Malau Media/IFRC, Tonga Red Cross Society’s staff and volunteers unloading boxes of water bottles from the boat into the beach in Nomuka Ha’apai Island, Tonga on April 1, 2022. Three months on from a devastating volcano and tsunami in Tonga, the AP checks in on how the island nation is recovering. The bill from the tsunami is estimated at some $90 million and GDP is expected to fall by more than 7% this year. The cleanup has been hindered by an internet outage caused by (AP)
The ANZ bank says Tonga’s GDP will likely contract by 7.4 per cent this year after it had been expected to grow by 3.7 per cent before the volcano erupted.
The international community has been helping out, with Tonga able to secure $10 million in funding from the World Bank and $13 million from the Asian Development Bank, as well as aid assistance from many places including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the European Union, the US and China.
But progress has been hampered by the nation’s first outbreak of COVID-19, which was likely brought in by foreign military crews who raced to drop off supplies as the ash cleared.
The outbreak prompted a series of lockdowns, and the country remains in a state of emergency.
tonga volcano eruption tsunami
Debris from damaged building and trees are strewn around on Atata Island. Chinook detachment commander Major Richard Bremner said the initial flights provided an opportunity for the task group’s reconnaissance elements to gain greater understanding of the islands and the devastation caused. “We have discovered more people on the islands than expected,” said Major Bremner. (AP)
Tonga volcano eruption tsunami aerial reconnaissance photographs
Australian Defence Force helicopters have been surveying the damage from the Tonga volcano eruption and subsequent tsunami. Pictured is Atata Island. (ADF/Petty Officer Christopher Szumlanski)
Moala is among the more than 8,500 Tongans who have caught the coronavirus since it began spreading through the islands.
Eleven people so far have died.
Moala said the outbreak had affected many businesses, including her husband’s work as a tattoo artist.
But as the outbreak ebbs and the rebuilding progresses, the islands’ familiar rhythms are returning for many people.
Among those who remain most affected are the 62 people who lived on Mango Island and about another 100 on Atata Island who may never be able to return home.
The islands are located very close to the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano, and the villages were completed wiped out.
Tonga volcano eruption tsunami aerial reconnaissance photographs
Aerial reconnaissance photographs show extent of damage in Tonga
Residents have now been offered land by Tonga’s king to relocate onto one of Tonga’s two main islands.
Sione Taumoefolau, the secretary-general of the Tonga Red Cross Society, said there is a lot of work to be done relocating the residents.
It’s also been slow-going getting supplies to people on other far-flung islands, he said.
Many of them remain without internet access after a domestic fibre-optic cable was also damaged and will likely not be repaired for months.
“Three months later, people are starting to get back to normal,” Taumoefolau said.
“But we can see they still need psychological and social support, those that were really impacted, especially those who have to relocate.”

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