Trauma from Tonga’s volcanic eruption continues - two years on

Tonga is using the lessons from the 2022 volcanic eruption and tsunami to prepare for possible disasters in the future.

This week marks two years since the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami that killed three people and wiped out entire villages on outer islands.

Churches held special services, and Save the Children Australia lead in Tonga Maa'imoa Mafile'o says the memory of what happened is still fresh.

“It’s just like yesterday. We had the commemoration and I think the memories came back to everyone, especially the ones that were here in Tonga, the moment when the volcano eruption occurred.

“It is something to think about and to learn from, what we can do to survive if there is another volcano eruption in the future.”

Mafile’o says children are resilient, but psychological recovery can happen very slowly, especially for those who were relocated after their villages were destroyed.

“Some of them still talk about it. Especially when there’s a thunderstorm or the earthquakes that happened here recently, we can hear the kids talking ‘Oh, we have to run, maybe there will be another volcano eruption’.”

The eruption wiped out internet connectivity for months, causing ongoing disruption to children's learning. More than $100,000 was raised in donations for Save the Children’s emergency response, who were able to offer support and develop the Tonga Volcano Recovery Programme, a box containing an offline access device with lesson plans and resources for schools to use if future disasters occur.

Another Save the Children staff member, Alisi Hoponoa, with a class in Tonga. Photo/Supplied

Mafile’o says the Ministry of Education is running psychosocial programmes to help teachers and children, and Save the Children also runs the Safe Schools programme.

“This is where we provide some drills and also some guidelines for both teachers and children on what they’re going to do if an eruption or other natural disasters occur when they’re still in school.”

She says further education is needed around climate change, as things have progressed from when she was at school.

“We have to work together with the Ministry of Education to put climate change into the curriculum from primary up to secondary, it's just one way of informing the child that this is really happening, it is real, it's not just a dream.

“Before, we were talking about earthquakes 15 or 20 years ago, but we hadn't seen the real impacts of an earthquake here in Tonga until the eruption.

“They need to know that and also what they're going to do, so you need to educate the children because they are the future of our country.”