Mango Island

The exodus occurred over the past two weeks and comes nearly a year after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted, on 15 January 2022. Both 'Atata and Mango were devastated by tsunami waves, caused by the eruption.

"I and my relatives are going to 'Eua", Mango town officer Sione Vailea said.

"We'll see what happens when we get there. There's no place for us on Mango anymore and the government has declared for my people to relocate."

Mango Island is part of the Ha'apai Island group and was one of the closest to the volcano when it erupted, producing a tsunami the Tongan government says generated waves up to 15 metres high.

Aucklander Mote Pahulu was born on Nomuka Island and grew up on neighbouring Mango Island. 

"We're absolutely devastated. Not only have we lost a relative, a very close relative, but everything else on the little island is gone," he tells Newshub.

"It was a beautiful little island, it was a little paradise."

It confirmed that three people are now known to have died: a 65-year-old woman in Mango and a 49-year-old man in Nomuka, both in the outlying Ha'apai island group; as well as British national Angela Glover in Tongatapu.

The Tongan navy had deployed with health teams and water, food and tents to the Ha'apai islands.

One aerial image taken by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) showed Mango and described the damage there as "catastrophic".

No houses, but just a few temporary tarpaulin shelters could be seen.