WELLINGTON Feb 24 (BUS): The first two eruptions of the volcano were frightening enough, but the third eruption was massive, causing everyone from the village to flee their homes in a reaction that would save all but one of their lives.
Even now, more than five weeks later, babies from Mango Island still run or shrivel when they hear thunderclaps or a loud noise.
The small island of Tonga was one of the closest places to a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific on January 15, an event so massive that it sent a screeching bang that could be heard in Alaska and a plume of mushroom ash seen in the stunning images captured from space. On Mango Island, a tsunami destroyed each house separately.
All 62 survivors were rescued by boat and taken to Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga, where they have lived together since then in the church hall. Most of that time they have been on lockdown after Tonga saw the first outbreak of the coronavirus.
Two survivors described their experience and uncertain future in an interview translated by a Tonga Red Cross official, according to the Associated Press.
Seon Philea, 52, said Mango Island is the most beautiful place he knows and nothing compares to it in all of Tonga. He said that only 14 families lived on the island, and they were all closely related to one village.
Each family had a small open-sided boat, the weather was favorable every morning, and they would go to the ocean to catch reef fish, snapper, octopus and lobster.
What they could not eat themselves they would take to the capital to sell, and have enough money to buy food and other necessities. For those lucky enough to have a properly sized engine on their boats, the trip back to the capital was a six-hour drive, but it could take twice that time for those running the 15-horsepower mile.
Mango Island is just over 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the undersea volcano Hongga Tonga Hung Hapai, which came back to life in late 2014, creating a new islet and briefly disrupting air travel in a series of Volcanic eruptions.
But that is nothing compared to the scale of the eruption that occurred that Saturday evening in January. When the islanders heard the third huge explosion, they began to run from their low village on top of a nearby hill, the highest point on Mango Island.
“There was no indication of a tsunami, but our gut feeling was that we needed to get to the top, because we weren’t sure what was going on,” Villa said.
As the city officer assigned to the island, Vailea checked to make sure everyone had gathered. Note that one of the families is missing.
Another survivor, Sulaki Kavuika, 72, who goes by the name Hlapene – or modern chief – a title bestowed upon him by the King of Tonga, said that as soon as he reached the top of the hill, he looked back. He could see the waves falling on the roofs of their homes. He had never experienced anything like this in his life.
Vailea scrambled back down the hill and saw the wife, two daughters and the son of a 65-year-old man coming. The man is gone, the waves took him.
“He was the first victim of the tsunami,” said Philae. “Because he died at that time, while they were trying to climb to the top of the island.”
Elsewhere in Tonga, two other people were also killed by the tsunami, one of whom was British, and a fourth died of what authorities described as a related shock. The tsunami crossed the Pacific Ocean into Peru, where it caused an oil spill and two more people drowned.
On Mango Island, night darkness soon followed a tsunami as villagers remained huddled at the top of the hill. Throughout the night, men carried blankets over the women and children to protect them from the ash and small volcanic rocks that were falling. The tsunami cut off all telephone and internet connections, and they were alone and isolated.
When dawn came, they walked up the hill and found the body of the drowned man. Amidst the wreckage, they found a small shovel and an axe. They dug a grave, a process that took most of the day after they hit a stone 1 meter (3 feet) deep.
All of their boats broke down and they had almost no food. After searching the village, they found two small bags of rice that they had cooked for the children, Failia said. The adults ate nothing that day or the next while they waited.
Finally, on Tuesday morning, a boat arrived from a neighboring island to check on them. Their neighbors had brought with them some cassava, a root vegetable, and a handful of bananas that looked like bananas.
“They cooked it and it was the best meal,” Vailea said. “On a normal day, you wouldn’t call it a good meal. But on that Tuesday, it was very special.”
The next day, they were all taken to the nearby island of Nomuka and then a few days later to Nuku’alofa, the capital, where they have lived ever since. None of them returned to Mango Island. As of Sunday, they were on lockdown following the outbreak of the virus, which was likely brought in by foreign military crews providing vital aid.
Survivors say it has been difficult for them over the past few weeks as they are dealing with the shocks and restrictions of the lockdown, but it has helped them so much that they have been living together and have been able to comfort each other. They benefited from clothes, food, and money donated by people from all over the world.
What will happen next is still uncertain. As a town officer, Vailea would meet regularly with Tonga officials, but he said the final decision on whether they would be able to return and resettle Mango Island rested with the Tonga government and king, King Tupou VI. Survivors hope for a decision within the coming weeks.
Vailea said the people of Mango Island are divided, with some wanting to go back and others happy to start life over in Nuku’alofa or elsewhere. He said it was his duty to support what his people wanted.
Hlabini said he has mixed feelings. All the good things he enjoyed in life were on Mango Island, but he also worried that the volcano might erupt again.
Vailea is more emphatic. He wants to go back to Mango Island, where life can be tough but where you have your time and share everything with your neighbours. Where you wake up in the morning and jump on your boat to fish.
HF