By Eleanor Gee with photos by Linny Folau

Meliame Matu (50s) stands outside her home in Ha'ateiho, the remnants of a small wooden structure battered to pieces by Tropical Cyclone Gita, but she's doing her laundry to catch the sunshine after the heavy rain. Her family are thankful to be alive after evacuating during the storm of the century. She's lived here for nearly 40 years and never experienced anything like it.

“We actually went to my cousin’s house in Pea way before the cyclone hit. Then at around 8pm – 9pm, the cyclone started to get stronger and all of a sudden, the carport collapsed and we got up to prepare to run. But before we could run, a huge amount of water filled the whole house. Then all of a sudden the roof was lifted off. We quickly ran towards the Church of Tonga Tauataina next door.”

“While we were running past the Reverend’s house, which was next to the church, he called out to us to quickly run into his house. The church itself was full of people.”

Meliame said there were over 10 people in the Reverend’s house.

“It was myself, my husband, my cousin, the Reverend and his wife, children and grandchildren. And the house is made of brick so it is sturdy and strong. We stayed there until daylight.”

“In the morning after the storm at around between 5 - 6am, I told my husband to go and check on our home. When he arrived, he saw the damage done to our house,” she said laughing nervously.

“Since we’ve been married, in the early '80’s, we’ve lived here in our house, and cyclones have come and gone with no damage to it, until this cyclone.”

Meliame said there is no running tap water in Ha’ateiho so she and her husband as well as her cousin relocated to another evacuation shelter at the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints (LDS) in Ha’ateiho.

“The church is full of people. So, every day, we get up and tidy up our bedding and leave to go to our homes to clean up and then we go back to the shelter to sleep.”

“I’m here doing our laundry right now because we have no more clothes to wear.”

She said there are around 20 – 30 families living in the church shelter at the moment where their essential needs are met.

“The bishop and president at the church bring us food and water so we are better staying there until we fix our house.”

She said all of her and her husband’s essential goods were moved from their house after the storm.

“My son, who lives with his wife in Houmakelikau, came in his van and moved our essentials to my husband’s family in ‘Atele.”

“We will rebuild our house. The important thing is that we are alive, material things don’t matter.”

And although she was standing beside her battered house with nothing to give, she still apologized to Matangi Tonga reporters for not being able to be more hospitable during their visit.