15 Dec Nomuka Town Officer breaks down recalling moments of disaster.
2022/02/21 – I remember the darkening of the skies to the South West from my house, we are four houses away from the coast. Towards the main direction of where the volcano lies is where the sky began to darken. I called to my husband for him to look up to the sky when the first explosion happened. We were running around scared and I couldn’t collect my thoughts, I was just looking at the cloud outside.
I finally ran into the house, 3 families had come to my house who lived by the coast. Shortly after I heard small rocks fall around outside. A vehicle approached our house who was collecting people and bringing them into the house. My husband was outside told us to stay indoors while he looked out because where our house is situated its a bit higher. My eldest son climbed the highest tree and shouted down at us “Run its a tsunami!”
My husband said to wait and my son yelled out again for us to run and my mind was so jumbled and finally a single thought came to me to run. As we all ran I could hear the second wave crash into the house behind us. We scrambled into the car and drove for the hill. I got off with my baby and I needed to change the baby but when I went through the bag there were no baby clothes, just water bottles. It seems funny now but it shows how very little I was thinking at the moment.
When we got to the hill there were many people there, later that night my husband came looking for us. I’m ashamed to tell this this story because of the responsibility I have that I should care for the people, but because I am a woman I didn’t have the courage to help others. This disaster I believe it was each man to himself to run and save their own lives. I feel my responsibility I wasn’t able to carry out.
It wasn’t until the next day was I able to go around and see the damage. I heard there a life lost, there was a 80 yr old mother at the water just behind me (points to pool of sea water). I grabbed my loudspeaker and called the community to gather on Sunday morning. There were a lot of people wading around and trying to find this 80 yr old mother and her 40 yr old disabled daughter. We found the mother, she was sitting in the water all night til day. We found her she was alive til today in good health. We didn’t find the daughter until Monday she had already lost her life.
Five days after the eruption we lost yet another life, a mother as well. We believe she may have died from the mental pressure of what had happened. She lived by the hill and her home was where we had found refuge that night. I saw her and she was in good health.
The damages are largely to the houses especially those by the seaside. The water there (stagnant water) we believe that if that wasn’t there to slow the path of the tsunami it probably would have reached the other side of the island. I reached to the end of the island.
We have water issues right now, there is very little water available. The only homes that were not damaged that still have their water tanks and Ministry of Health visited to chlorinate the water and that’s what we use now. We are now working towards getting every household to quickly clean their roofs and remove the ash fast so that we can get to collect rainwater as soon as possible to use for drinking and irrigating the gardens.
The vegetation is greatly damaged, from root crops to fruit trees the cassava has already been damaged and become inedible. Its going to be a long story to save these crops, the recovery is going to be very long.
Our electricity is still out, it went out the night it happened it wasn’t until 12 days later when the electric people arrived and clean up broken wires. Homes that were not damaged are the only houses with electricity at the moment. 36 homes were totally damaged. 3 structures still stand by the seaside, the Wesleyan resident, the Police station and the medical centre but they are already damaged internally by the waves.
Water is our immediate need. We need to clean up as well looking at the fallen trees we don’t have any tools to help us like chainsaws to help the clean up go faster. I’m afraid of what the debris will do and bring a lot of flies. Its important to me that I look after the health of the community before we can do the work. The trash disturbs me. The police began a little of the clean up and they only had one machine but we need to do more.
This is the tenth round of distribution from you (MORDI), the food ration is proportionately done. We are rationing food and trying to stretch it. At the moment root crops and fruit trees will take time to supplement. It’s a sad story, I cant explain the extent of the damage in detail in one go.
I know that there will be one time when you will visit our home again and see the damage for yourselves. From Kelepi’s house to Hofoni you all know I don’t need to explain, everything is damaged from this great and tremendous wave. I believe if this had happened at night the loss of life would have been greater. But thank God we are still largely saved.
I’m a Town Officer, a woman I was not able to do my job when the disaster happened, I was the one of the first that ran. The feeling I had in me when the first explosion happened, I had not experienced quite a fear as that. I ran because I was scared.
After the disaster those with injuries needed to return to mainland, I heard some say they will move and never return, even the students. At the moment there are very little people left here. We definitely know that at this moment there will be no more building by the seaside. Even during cyclones these are the most hard hit. We don’t realize the extent of the damage until we come down to the sea. We see the sand that has reached inland, the seas are rough and the boats are unable to unload relief because of the waters. I see that the water has greatly changed after the tsunami. Most people are still living inland and only come down to clean up and wait for boats that bring relief but then go back inland.
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