Tonga must

In the wake of this week’s devastating cyclone, calls are growing for improved building standards to cyclone-proof homes in Tonga. By Amanda Saxton. Photos by Lawrence Smith.

ON the night Cyclone Gita tore through Tonga, Finau Afeaki and her mother Suliana made a lastminute decision to flee their home with just a few clothes.

The roof of their verandah lifted during Monday night’s category-four storm, tearing the roof and ceiling off half the house. Rain poured in and wind tore though cabinets; the whole house flooded and the women’s belongings were extensively damaged.

The house has huge sentimental value for Finau and Suliana, and tears flow as they remember the morning after Gita. ‘‘It was coming home and seeing the hard work of your family…’’ Finau trails off, choked.

‘‘Cause you know that every piece of timber here and every nail was paid for and worked for by a family member. By my father. To see it just ripped up is heart-breaking. Very heartbreaking.’’

Finau, 36, grew up in Tonga, but moved to the United States with her family in the early 90s. She returned with her parents in 2007 to build their dream house on the edge of the lagoon.

Her father died two years ago. A prized photo of Finau with her dad was one of the only items salvaged from the home before it was destroyed.

Their home was modern and made of concrete. They’d boarded up its windows and had expected it would withstand Gita’s rage. But the lack of building knowledge in Tonga meant it still lacked basic features that could have made it cyclone-proof.

Logistics advisor for the National Emergency Management Office Graham Kenna said building standards ‘‘did already exist’’ in Tonga, but were rarely followed or enforced.

‘‘People build what they can afford, so the buildings are poor because they are poor,’’ he said.

The annual average income is around $7600 and many Tongans live by subsistence agriculture alone. Building practices in Vanuatu and Fiji have been