Relief Efforts in the Kingdom of Tonga
By Lichen Forster
Maata Fakasieiki posing in her graduation garb (May 2020), holding a photo of her late mother Fanela. Photo provided by Fakasieiki.
UH Hilo Alumna and Pāhoa resident Maata Fakasieiki watched from afar on January 15 as an explosive eruption from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’api volcano rocked her homeland, the Kingdom of Tonga.
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’api is a submarine subduction-related volcano located in the Tonga-Kermadec Islands chain. Geologic subduction happens when tectonic plates run into each other, causing one to start moving beneath the other. When this happens in the middle of oceans, it creates highly active and often dangerous volcanic arcs.
The Jan. 15 eruption caused tsunamis all around the Pacific Rim, with waves in Tonga reaching 15 meters. Three people in Tonga were killed, and two in Peru drowned when a six foot seven inch high wave crashed on their coast.
Sound from the eruption was heard as far away as Yukon, Canada, and shock waves traveled all the way to Europe. An intense lightning period coincided with the eruption, which ejected a 39 km high column of ash.
At first, Fakasieki wasn’t too worried about the eruption. Then she saw footage of the event on Facebook.
“I couldn’t sleep that night,” she said.
Tonga lost Internet and telephone connections for days after the eruption, and it took three days for Fakasieki’s sister to be able to contact her from a satellite at her university. Fakasieki’s father, brother, and three sisters all live in Tonga, and none were physically harmed by the eruption. Still, communication to the country has been difficult, even a month after its impact.
“It’s been a month now and I [have] only talked to my family twice,” Fakasieki said.
‘Eua, Bailo’s island during the PeaceCorps, after the eruption. Photo provided by Bailo.
One of the eruption’s resulting tsunamis destroyed many settlements on outer islands, while layers of volcanic ash covered the main island, contaminating drinking water and possibly damaging crops.
UH Hilo graduate student Samantha Bailo was a PeaceCorps volunteer in Tonga from 2014 to 2017, a time which inspired her move to Hawaiʻi. She began fundraising within days of the eruption.
“As the news starts heading in other directions, people kind of forget about it,” Bailo said. “So while people were still talking about Tonga and thinking about Tonga, I just wanted to try to gather funds, knowing that the momentum probably wouldn’t last very long.”
Bailo explained that one of Tonga’s main issues right now is drinking water. Most of the country relies on catchment systems of rainwater; sources that have been jeopardized because of volcanic remains.
She raised money for individual families by requesting donations be sent to her Venmo. Then she transferred the money to friends living in the village she stayed at during the PeaceCorps. Bailo sent out $3,000 to Tonga in all, some going to her friends (who redistributed it as needed), some to the capital of the island, where 56 houses had been destroyed, and some to residents of Nomuka island, where most houses are destroyed. Bailo has stopped collecting, but recommends those still interested to send donations to Friends of Tonga, a non-profit group set up before the eruption with goals of improving education and development in Tonga. Their campaign for eruption relief is set for a goal of $100,000, one that is 69% fulfilled as of Ke Kalahea’s press time.
“I think spreading the word about what happened [is important], and knowing that there was an immediate aftermath, and there’s a long term aftermath.” Bailo said. “If you know any Tongan students or Tongan friends, ask them how their families have coped [and] ask them how they’re doing.”
On Feb. 2, two dock workers delivering aid tested positive to COVID-19, leading to the first outbreak of the virus in the Kingdom of Tonga since the start of the pandemic. Tests later confirmed that the omicron variant was responsible. NPR reported on Feb. 10 that 98% of Tonga’s eligible population had at least one dose of the vaccine, and that so far, cases have resulted in mild symptoms.
Bailo worked as a primary school teacher at a government primary school while in the PeaceCorps. Here she poses with her co-teacher Salote and their students. Photo provided by Bailo