A man named Lisala Folau swam about 27 hours after being dragged tsunami Tonga last weekend. Because of this action, Folau is hailed as “Aquaman in real life.”
In an interview with local media, Broadcom Broadcasting, Folau admitted that he was swept away by waves of sea water when the tsunami hit his island on Saturday (16/1) at around 19:00 local time.
Folau said that when the tsunami hit, he was drawing at his home on the small isolated island of only about 60 people, Atata.
His brother suddenly warned of the threat of a tsunami. Shortly after, waves of sea water reached his living room.
Folau climbed a tree to avoid drowning, but was hit by another tsunami wave. He also said that he was actually disabled and could not walk properly.
“I’m tossed about on the brink of the big waves that keep coming,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
He admitted that he managed to swim as far as 7.5 kilometers to Tongatapu Island. It reached the coast 27 hours after being swept away by the tsunami, at around 10pm on Sunday (17/1).
Reuters could not contact Folau to verify this incident.
However, Folau’s story has gone viral on Tongan Facebook groups and other social media.
“Real-world Aquaman,” said one netizen on Facebook, referring to the Marvel comics and movie character.
Another netizen also wrote, “He is a legend.”
Atata Island, which is about 8 kilometers from Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, was almost wiped out by the tsunami. The Tongan Navy is also still conducting surveys on several other small islands and evacuating people to the main island.
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai seamount on Saturday killed at least three people. This eruption also triggered a tsunami that swept across the archipelago, destroying villages, resorts and various buildings.
This disaster also cut off communication between Tonga and the outside world.
(pwn/has/bac)
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