Family to the rescue... and back to school

KIWI builders Frankie Bourke and his nephew Bailey made sure they were on the first flight out of New Zealand to Tonga after the cyclone. Their first port of call was Franky’s sister Joanna, who weathered the cyclone alone in her home east of the capital.

Joanna’s house – a blue brick bungalow – came through unscathed. Franky attributed this to it being built ‘‘strictly’’ to New Zealand standards, something he had vigilantly overseen during its construction.

After clearing the family property of uprooted trees and other people’s disintegrated proven to help structures withstand cyclones, and Kenna said that knowledge would allow stronger houses to be built within Tongan means.

Many roofs, the Afeakis’ included, were held down solely with nails that popped out when strong winds lifted the corrugated iron. Metal strapping, lots of it, was needed to fasten them securely.

Five days after the cyclone, white emergency shelter tents are mushrooming next to obliterated homes – many of sheds, he got stuck into coordinating the rebuild of four schools.

‘‘They’re just destroyed – roof’s gone, walls gone, books gone, which are just piles of corrugated iron picked over by pigs, chickens and children. Houses without roofs are commonplace; buildings with partly peeled-off roofs are almost ubiquitous.

The tents are being distributed by aid organisations and sleep up to 15. They are part of an initial aid drop-off, along with hygiene kits, bottled water and blankets.

‘‘Resilient’’ is a word you hear frequently on the island. Groups of teens play volleyball on still desks gone,’’ he says. ‘‘And you see the students there trying to dry out their books because they can’t afford new ones.’’

According to the Center for Climate Change and Energy Solutions, warmer ocean temperatures and higher sea levels are expected to intensify the impact of cyclones and hurricanes, putting a strong focus on rebuilding better, stronger. And Franky sees the cyclone’s mass destruction as an opportunity for the Tongan government to enforce better building standards during the nation’s rebuild. slightly waterlogged fields. Women gather to for uproarious card games, breast-feeding babies as they play.

Another refrain is: ‘‘Thank God, at least we are alive’’.

Finau knows many families have lost even more than hers, though that’s a fact she finds devastating in itself.

Like most of the country, the Afeakis don’t have insurance but do have extensive family networks. Families pulling