Nuku’alofa –
A 57 year old man in Tonga claiming he survived the hack tsunami by swimming for 27 hours on Saturday (15/1). This man was dubbed the ‘Aquaman in real life’ by local residents.
As reported Reuters, Thursday (20/1/2022), volcanic eruption Southern-Ha’apai people on Saturday (15/1) triggered a tsunami that hit Tonga, an island nation of 105,000 people in the South Pacific. At least three people died, with many buildings damaged and communications cut off.
Lisala Folau, 57, who lives on the small and remote island of Atata, which has a population of just 60 people, said she was swept into the ocean when tsunami hit the island where he lived on Saturday (15/1) night, at 19.00 local time.
Folau told that he was painting his house when his brother told him about the potential for a tsunami wave, and suddenly sea water rushed into his house.
Folau said he climbed a tree to save himself, but when he came down he was again hit by a big wave that sent him drifting into the ocean. Folau admits that he is disabled and cannot walk perfectly.
“I was just being tossed around, being hit by the big waves that kept coming,” Folau said in an interview with Tongan news agency Broadcom Broadcasting.
In that situation, Folau tried to swim slowly towards the nearest land. He managed to swim to the main island of Tongatapu which is 7.5 kilometers away, and managed to reach the shore about 27 hours later or on Sunday (16/1) evening, around 22.00 local time.
Watch the Video ‘Explanation of Experts on the Explosion of the Tonga Undersea Volcano’:
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