Alaska’s Polynesian-American community is starting to hear from loved ones in Tonga more than a week after mother nature left a disastrous mark on the island, and locals with ties to the area are pleading for help.
on Jan. 15, causing significant damage to the nearby island nation of Tonga and largely cutting its people off from the outside world. People in Alaska with ties to Tonga are trying to figure out what to do to help their loved ones.
Pulu said he has an idea of what people on the island are going through right now. He endured a similar situation while living in Tonga in 1982. A cyclone hit the nation that year. That storm is said to possibly be Southern Tonga’s most severe storm in 100 years.Lusiana Hansen with the Polynesian Association of Alaska said people in Anchorage can help get Tongans the supplies they need. She said Tongans mostly live on what they provide for themselves.
On Tuesday, donations were being accepted at a local church. The association is accepting things like canned food, toiletries, shows, clothing and tents.But the need doesn’t stop there. The association is searching for help, taking a container of donations down to the US West Coast to get it on a ship directly to Tonga.
Hansen said the association is also working with Mayor Dave Bronson’s to see if it can help get the donations to Tonga.
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