Louisiana pastor from Tonga: 'You just don't know who made it' after volcano eruption
Dressed in all black for mourning sat a man anxiously awaiting the voice of his brothers. Reverend Sione Tu'uta of First United Methodist Bossier, a native of the Kingdom of Tonga has spent the last four days praying for the international call from his brothers he left behind three decades ago.
"You just don't know who made it," Tu'uta said.
On Saturday, Jan. 15, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupted roughly 40 miles north of the Tonga capital Nuku'alofa, resulting in waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground.
The kingdom with an estimated population of 105,000 people lost all access to communication outside the islands when the eruption resulted in the underwater internet line being cut, leaving friends and family members around the world anxiously trying to get in touch.
Tu'uta said, "For those of us who live here we wait."
The company that owns the single underwater fiber-optic cable that connects the island nation to the rest of the world said it likely was severed in the eruption and repairs could take weeks. This timeline could be extended as Tu'uta said, "nobody asked the ocean how to behave for their schedule."
Tu'uta recalls the phone call he had with his brother the morning prior to this whole event, stating that people were curious and were heading to the beach to see this phenomenon because it was unlike any event Tongans had experienced.
"This was absolutely new for every Tongan, so when this happened there were a lot of people curious about it," Tu'uta said. "I never thought a tsunami would ever make it to Tonga, because I honestly thought if there is a history of the world then nobody would live there."
Faith in the Tonga people
In 1991, Tu'uta came to the United States to work in ministry for his cousin in Compton, California. Thinking he was never going to leave his home in Tonga, Tu'uta embarked on a journey to help his family and God.
While in Compton Tu'uta took up the sport of football which would help him through college. As Tu'uta said, "Tongan culture and Tongan people they are not rich in a material since, but I have always believed we are wealthy people because we take care of each other."
Although many miles from his homeland Tu'uta spoke of his culture as a defining part of his character bringing peace to the situation currently happening.
"Island life is one that began and finished with taking care of one another. It is the only way you make it in life. They will rebuild, it will be a long road, but people will take care of one another through this," Tu'uta said.
Neighboring countries are reaching out in aid. New Zealand and Australia were able to send military surveillance flights to Tonga on Monday to assess the damage.
New Zealand is working to send essential supplies, including much-needed drinking water, on military transport planes, while UNICEF Pacific also stands ready to send emergency supplies like water, hygiene kits and tents to the nation.
"They need the help but with the help comes a risk," Tu'uta said.
In 2020, Tonga closed its borders completely in response to COVID, not allowing people in or out of the country. Tu'uta said he is concerned that with the federal aid from neighboring countries the virus could be brought in putting many Tongan lives at risk.
"It is really difficult to think about how life will be for these people," Tu'uta said.
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Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Tongan volcanic eruption disaster: local reaction from native Tongan
