A quote from the following website http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/art3v4i1.html regarding Manihiki.
THE DAY THE ISLAND WAS ALMOST WIPED OFF THE MAP
Tropical Cyclone Martin struck the northern group of Cook Islands on the afternoon of Saturday 1st November 1997. It came from an unexpected direction with very high seas and winds gusting up to 90 knots. It had the greatest effect on Manihiki, a string of low-lying coral atolls around a deep and 5 km wide lagoon with a population of about 630 settled in the two villages of Tauhunu and Tukao. No weather-data gathering facility was nearby to give precise records, but eyewitnesses reported the crescendo as lasting about 30 minutes, during which time the biggest wave surged above 30 metres and cut a 200 metre swathe which left widespread damage in its wake. The final tally of casualties showed that eleven people were dead, 9 were missing, and many were injured. Housing was flattened, public facilities destroyed, crushed coral roads washed-out, and virtually all of the off-shore accomodation and equipment relating to the lagoon pearl-fishing industry was destroyed. Small boats, demolition timbers, and household contents were strewn everywhere, and sheets of cast-iron roofing were wrapped like tape around high trees. Sunken debris littered the edge of the lagoon to a distance of about 30 metres.
The full text of this website makes for fascinating reading!
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| The aftermath of Hurricane Martin remains visible 14 years after the event. |
As an indication of how vulnerable these islands are, here are some vital statistics:
Manihiki: Population: 356
Land Mass: 5.3 sq. Kms
Location: 1084kms north west of Rarotonga
Rakahanga: Population: 141
Land Mass: 4.1 sq. kms
Location: 1200 kms from Rarotonga
You will note from the website that the population of Manihiki at the time of the hurricane was 600 odd, and now it is 356, if that. After the evacuation of Manihiki due to the hurricane, many decided not to return. There was actually talk of abandoning the island all together. Talking with locals on Manihiki I was told that some of those people that were swept away ended up on Rakahanga, some 30 odd kilometres away. I work with several women who were directly affected by this cyclone. One was swept away with her husband and survived somehow after drifting at sea for days but they lost their daughter. Another woman said her family clambered into a boat and thankfully a rope get snagged on a pearl line under water and kept them from being swept out of the lagoon.
As is mentioned in the website, and as I heard first hand from locals, these types of incidents are seem by some on the islands as God's punishment for various indiscretions. In this case the greed and over indulgence in the pearl industry. As a further example of this mentality I have a colleague now, who previous to working at the Ministry, worked at the national college here - Tereora College. She stood one day at assembly to say the prayer and concluded by saying that the recent Japanese tsunami's were brought on themselves through their own indiscretions and was God's way of punishing them. Incidentally, this same woman was the one mentioned above whose family was saved from being washed out to sea.
This attitude is very real and prominent in the islands, and whilst it may be easy to scoff and turn to science as an explanation, there is some mystique, and sense of karma in the idea...!
And you can't help becoming caught up in it, whether you choose to or not. On our arrival on Rakahanga we were greeted with the customary kaikai and speeches, and whilst in Maori, were later translated for us and one of the dignitaries had said that "now that these good people had come to visit our island we can expect rain!" If you've seen the news recently you will now that Tuvalu and Tokelau are both in a state of emergency due to lack of water/rain and the NZ armed forces are delivering water to them. It was no different here and rain was seen as a blessing brought about by God's favour! No pressure! Thankfully, on the morning of the Monday we were due to leave it rained quite heavily. Regardless of my own beliefs on the matter, it was a nice, heart warming, feeling, firstly to be thought worthy of God's blessing, and secondly to receive confirmation of such by delivering rain to this island, and its people, and somehow 'repaying' them for their incredible hospitality.
Here are a few photo's that highlight just how at the mercy of the elements these pearl farms are:
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| The outhouse is great isn't it! Precariously perched on the throne! |
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| Look close and you can see a shark. I actually swam with these sharks, just like Jacques Costeau! |
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| The owner of this pearl farm is Asian and apparently has his own jet! |
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| The original foundations of the building can still be seen, but was not rebuilt after the hurricane. This belonged to our hosts on the island, Rangi and Mataio Jackson and is now used as simply a work station. |
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