By Tupou Vaipulu

'Atata Islanders have begun relocating to the village of Masilamea on Tongatapu. Their new home is a neighbourhood of 22 houses located at the edge of the village. At least three families have moved in since the housing project was officially opened on December 20.

One those moving in is Maile Ma’afu. He along with the entire population of ‘Atata – numbering over a hundred people - were left homeless after their small island was hit by tsunami waves caused by the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcano on January 15. Maile miraculously survived, despite getting caught by the waves.

“It was terrifying, the first few waves cleared out all the trees and houses near the shore-line”, Ma’afu said.

“I was unprepared”, he added.

Ma’afu said the sonic booms generated by the eruption made him dizzy and caused him to have a panic attack. By the time he decided to make his way to higher ground however, all the pathways were blocked with trees and debris.

“The only thing that came to my mind was to go into the water and, that’s just what I did.”

But more tsunami waves swept across the lowest part of the island.

“The wave came and plunged me into the bush and there, I struggled for a while but managed to grab hold of a tree branch.”

From the tree, Ma’afu said he could see the waves crashing and destroying houses and uprooting trees. He remained on the tree for about three hours waiting for the waves to die down.

 “It was around 9:00pm when the waves calmed down that I decided to climbed down and look for my family.”

When he made it to higher ground where his community waited, his family were surprised that Ma’afu only had a few scars and bruises.

“The sky grew darker and the air filled with poisonous gasses, but we remained strong and resilient…We sang hymns and prayed to our god,

"If the tsunami hit us during the night, many have would died or become severely injured."