On call, then eruption’s loud boom
A Rotorua resident has not been able to reach family in Tonga
ARotorua resident was on a video call phone with her sister in Tonga when she heard the “loud boom” of an eruption and saw darkness descending as her sister panicked — before the connection cut out.
She hasn’t been able to reach her since.
On Saturday, the Hunga Tongahunga Ha’apai volcano erupted, shooting thick ash and steam about 20km in the air. The underwater volcano is located about 65km north of Nuku’alofa.
Rotorua Pacific Islands Development Charitable Trust manager Mata Mafileo was video calling her sister in Tonga and heard the “loud boom” of the eruption.
Mafileo saw it starting to get dark and her sister told her it seemed to be clouding over, showing them the ash falling from the sky.
“She was panicking.”
Earlier that day her sister had said the town smelled like Rotorua — the sulphuric smell similar to boiled eggs.
Her sister explained then that they were not allowed on the beach and were told to wear masks when they went outside.
Mafileo was with two others, including her mother, trying to calm her sister down, pack an emergency pack and get inland.
The network suddenly cut off and, as of yesterday, Mafileo had not been able to reach her.
“I can’t sleep at night,” she said. Mafileo was busy either checking for updates or trying to call any family, hoping each time the network would be working again.
She said she and the other Tongan families in Rotorua were struggling not being able to hear from their relatives.
Multicultural Rotorua president Margriet Theron said there was a “substantial” Pacific Island community in Rotorua so all the community would somehow be affected.
She said it was an “absolutely shocking” event, especially given the number of natural disasters that have impacted the island.
Her thoughts were with all families affected, living in Tonga and in New Zealand.
Lano Fonua lives in Tauranga and works as the Tongan International rugby team manager. His family, except for his brother, remain in Tonga.
Fonua was at dinner with his wife when his mother, Tongan journalist Mary Fonua, messaged him saying the “waves were coming” and it was “pretty bad”.
His mother told him that they would stay put and not evacuate as the roads were already underwater.
At this stage, he didn’t know the scale of the disaster, but neither he nor his brother could get through to her.
“I was worried because there was no communication. I didn’t know if it got worse or if there were more waves . . . if the eruptions are going to continue.”
Fonua said an old school friend living in Tonga was somehow able to contact him through her work’s internet and let him know his family was safe.
“It was a massive relief,” he said,