Page 38 - Islands Business May-June 2022

Tonga Tonga

TONGA REBUILDS

Moana Kioa (L) and Mafua-’i-Vai’utukakau Maka of Tonga’s National Emergency Management Office.

By Samantha Magick generation, I think they are keen to stay in a new environ-
ment.”
“We gave the world a bit of a shake on the 15th of January Mafua said arrangements have been made to settle about
this year,” Moana Kioa from Tonga’s National Emergency Man- 30 people from Mango Island, which was badly affected by
agement Office (NEMO) told the Global Platform for Disaster the eruption and tsunami, on land in ‘Eua. Land has also been
Risk resilience in Indonesia in May. secured on Tongatapu. “It’s a land issue now,” he said. “We’re
“Often our issues back home can be overlooked in big looking at trying to settle everything before rebuilding houses
meetings like this,” she continued, noting that Tonga is the and facilities to cater for each family.”
second most vulnerable island country in the world when it In addition, one house has been built, with five more to be
comes to risk ratings. “Having said that, I am sitting here in built on the Nukualofa area.
front, but I feel so small…so I ask you please to hear us out.”
Kioa followed that appeal with a call for support for robust, Communications blackout
early warning systems to be installed in island nations such as The communications blackout between Tonga and the rest
Tonga. of the world when the undersea cable was damaged in Janu-
ary has been partially resolved, although communications to
The response evolves outer islands is still difficult.
“It’s a huge responsibility”, said NEMO Director, Mafua-’i- SpaceX established a station in Fiji that has helped recon-
Vai’utukakau Maka at the meeting of the efforts following the nect Tonga through SpaceX satellites. VSAT terminals are
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and tsunami. now being installed in Vava’u, Ha’apai and other locations to
The NEMO team was kept busy during the immediate after- connect residents to communications, although Mafua noted,
math, coordinating the relief effort, “not only the food and “now it’s a matter of when we are going to continue using
non-food items, but at the same time, coordinating the flow that luxury of having SpaceX in Tonga.”
of personnel especially to the community impacted commu- “It has reminded us, the whole of the region and the world,
nity,” said Director Mafua. of the vulnerability of our communication system relying on
However he said the existing cluster system meant re- underground sea cable,” said Kioa. She cites this as the major
sponse mechanisms were already in place to coordinate challenge to establishing an early warning system in the King-
“first responders, the armed forces, the police, Tonga fire dom, saying, “even in normal times, a mobile network and
and emergency services, the NGOs, Red Cross, and even the connection is always problematic within the outer islands.”
private sector.” She said it may take 8-9 months to repair the cable to outer
As NEMO Deputy Director, Kioa said after initial distribution islands, and that while strengthening telecommunications
of food relief and pre-positioned supplies, there were some “may be not much return on investment, it’s the life of the
challenges. “After a month, a lot of the donors, a lot of the human is important.”
countries still say that they’re sending us food. My boss and I
were having a hard time because we don’t have the capacity Localisation and local knowledge
for storage…[or] to distribute and disseminate those resourc- Both Mafua and Kioa stressed the need to draw on local
es, it’s not in our mandate.” resilience and knowledge in responding to events such as the
The NEMO’s focus has now shifted to relocation of families January 15 eruption and tsunami.
displaced by the eruption and tsunami, Mafua said. “As we continue to rely more on technology, there is also a
“Staying in an evacuation centre, it’s very difficult, very need to boost traditional knowledge and blend with modern
difficult, because of the privacy and all those issues...what technology for clear messaging,” Kioa said.
they really need now is a home. Despite the fact that the “It will be better to teach how the traditional ways and how
older ones, they prefer to go back to the island, the young we manage to survive in those days, by looking at the natural

38 Islands Business, May-June 2022