My First, and Hopefully Last, Tongan Tsunami

September was a pretty crazy and hectic month, so, I suppose, in a way it was fitting that the last day of the month was taken up by massive fear and panic resulting from a tsunami. I was going about my business last Wednesday morning around 7:30am as usual. I had already brought water inside from my rain water tank and it was on the stove boiling for my morning tea. The radio was prepared to be switched on at 8:00 (which is when we get 10 minutes of English-language BBC Pacific Region news broadcasts), and I’d already scolded school children for looking in my windows and staring at me. It was a typical day. My cell phone rang a few times, but, not unusually, my network was atrocious, and all I could hear was infinite static and what I’ve dubbed ‘space noises’- I really didn’t think much of it.

About a half hour later my phone was still ringing (but unable to connect) and the words “earthquake”, “tsunami”, and “Samoa” caught my attention from the news broadcast. Samoa is pretty close to Tonga (very close if you are a giant tsunami wave) so I tried to call the emergency coordinators in my group who have satellite phones and are immediately contacted by the PC office if there is any natural or political threat to safety, but the phone network was still busy/down, and I couldn’t get through to anyone. It wasn’t until school officially started that the teachers turned on the radio, and we heard, in Tongan, that there was a tsunami warning in effect for Tonga. Massive panic ensued. Now, Tongan children, as a whole, make American kids look like tiny spoiled wimps. They do strenuous chores American children would never consider doing unless they were getting paid, they routinely run around with giant bush knives, climb coconut trees, take care of younger siblings on their own, and are seemingly impervious to cuts, scrapes, bits, and even infections. So, when the word got out that there was a tsunami warning, I was a bit surprised to see how quickly the students at school began to panic and cry, although with good reason: if a serious tsunami were ever to hit Lifuka, there’s a very slim chance that anything or anyone would survive. Immediately school was dismissed, and the kids went sprinting home or into the bush. No organization, no protocol. Just running.

I was still trying to get in touch with other volunteers, but I couldn’t get through to anyone. Not really knowing what was going on, I weighed my options: to get to the PC consolidation point or higher ground, I would have to bike/ride along the one road from my village to town, which runs right next to the shore of the island, which didn’t seem like the best idea. My school and house is located almost directly in the middle of the northern half of the island, so I decided to just stay put. My fellow teachers joined me in this strategy, since the majority of the village I live in is pretty close to the water, and in the spirit of not panicking, we made some morning tea and keke (Tongan doughnuts) and pretty much hung out. A few hours later I was able to receive a phone call from another volunteer telling me we were all clear.

We were so incredibly lucky here in Ha’apai. Only a few tsunami waves hit the main wharf in Pangai, which is virtually the best place it could have since there are no houses on the beach there, and the highest wave was no more than 3 meters. Kate and Brett, who live right on the beach in Pangai and left with their neighbors for higher ground, saw the ocean before and during the waves, and even though there wasn’t a lot of damage, it sounds terrifying. According to them, the entire harbor drained out before the waves hit, almost like the harbor was a sink and someone had pulled the drain. (For a more exciting version of the tsunami in Ha’apai, check out Kate and Brett’s blog: http://asleson.blogspot.com/) The only damage that my island incurred was to some of the boats that were at the wharf and in the harbor, but even they weren’t damaged too badly. The biggest issue was that no one was really informed and hardly anyone knew what was going on- the word tsunami (peau kula- literally ‘red wave’) was heard, and everyone understandably panicked.

Sadly, there were deaths and much more damage in the Niua island group of Tonga, which is actually closer to Samoa than it is to any other Tongan islands, and all this week there have been fundraisers within Tonga to send money and aid up to Niuatoputapu.

Talking with some of the other volunteers the other day we realized that in 2009 there have been multiple earthquakes, two cyclones, a volcanic eruption, and now a tsunami in Tonga, which is a pretty tiny country. We’ve really been blowing through those natural disasters…I think all we’re missing is a blizzard! Still, we’ve been extremely fortunate because none of the events have really caused widespread damage or loss of life.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent me and/or Thom (who perhaps shall henceforth be referred to as my personal secretary… I’m kidding, I love you!) an email to make sure everything was alright down here. It means so much, and I really appreciate your concern.