Results for Outer Islands

Three waves actually hit Niuatoputapu, each successively bigger than the last - the final one higher than the coconut trees.

71-year-old 'Anamalia Vea, the oldest survivor of the tsunami that wrecked Hihifo village and left nine dead in Niuatoputapu on September 30, is amazed that she came out of the churning waters alive. By Linny Folau,

Kakala Lefai (58) of Hihifo, Niuatoputapu, is recovering in Nuku'alofa's Vaiola Hospital with an injured knee after surviving the devastating tsunami that in one terrible moment took the lives of her 60-year-old husband Sosefo, and two young grandchildren aged one and two years old.

The town of Pangai in Tonga's central Ha'apai Group of islands was hit by the September 30 tsunami, with the Police reporting damage to two houses, several boats and a wharf.

Revi, a French Navy Ship is the first to arrive in Nuku‘alofa to assist in transporting much needed supplies to Niuatoputapu following the tsunami disaster that struck the island on Wednesday, September 30.

A new interim inter-island passenger vessel for Tonga is expected to be in service soon, to replace the sunken ferry MV Princess Ashika.

On August 25, 2009 a flotilla of vessels carrying about 500 mourners gathered in Ha'apai waters, around a point where four orange buoys floated in the water marking the last position of the MV Princess Ashika. They held a memorial and mass funeral ceremony at sea for the 74 people who were lost when the inter-island ferry sank on August 5. Part Three: Photos by Linny Folau on the MV Pulupaki and Pesi Fonua on the VOEA Pangai.

A mass funeral ceremony at sea for the 74 people lost on the Princess Ashika on August 5, was held at midday yesterday, August 25, at the spot where the ferry sank, 11 nautical miles, south-west of Nomuka Island, in Tonga's Ha'apai Group, where about 500 people gathered on a flotilla of boats. Photos by Linny Folau on the MV Pulupaki and Pesi Fonua on the VOEA Pangai.

After 17 nights of camping in tents outside the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia Ltd. office at Queen Salote Wharf, anticipating news of relatives in the August 5 sinking of the MV Princess Ashika, bereaved families put closure to the hope of recovery and returned home on Friday July 21.