Despite a disability, 57-year-old Lisala Folau says he spent more than a day swimming between Tonga's tiny, earthquake-devastated islands to get back to safety.
. But as the first planes carrying emergency supplies touched down on the runway at Fua'amotu International Airport, recently cleared of ash, the story of one survivor in particular was captivating people around the world.
Waves started slamming into the tiny Tongan island of Atata, where Folau is among the roughly 60 inhabitants, at about 7 p.m. on Saturday. He first climbed trees to escape the tsunami with family members, but they came down when they thought it was safe."My elder brother yelled out to us, there was a big wave coming in. I just turned and looked at the wave — it was a bigger wave than the six-meter [wave] that destroyed our house.
"I finally got there at 6 p.m. I called and yelled for help but there was no one there," so Folau once again took to the sea. Officials have said that Folau's home island of Atata, about five miles northwest of the main island, was virtually flattened by the tsunami.
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