Over six months on from the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption and tsunami in Tonga, we hear from Drew Havea, Chair of the Tonga Civil Society Forum of Tonga (CSFT).
Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai was the largest volcanic eruption since the 1991 eruption of Mt Pinatubo. A number of communities were displaced, and 4 deaths and 14 injuries were recorded. At the time, a new government had only been in office for a month, and damage to the IT infrastructure created a communication blackout, disrupting typical international humanitarian communications.
Drew will present on the ongoing locally-led recovery in Tonga, along with the assistance provided by the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organization (PIANGO).