Mango is a small island in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

, 9 kilometres south-east of the larger island of

Nomuka Nomuka is a small island in the southern part of the Haʻapai, Haapai group of islands in Tonga. It is part of the Nomuka Group of islands, also called the Otu Muomua. Among neighboring islands are Kelefesia, Nukutula, Tonumea, Fonoifua, Telekit ...

, and part of the Nomuka or ʻOtu Muʻomuʻa group of islands, which are the southern part of the

Haʻapai Haʻapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs, and shoals in the central part of Tonga. It has a combined land area of . The Tongatapu island group lies to its south, and the Vavaʻu group lies to its north. Seventeen of the Haʻapai islands are ...

group. Mango had a population of 62 in the 2021 census.

History

The island was badly damaged by the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami. Following the eruption, a distress call was detected from the island. Images from the

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; , "Line of Defence of New Zealand") is the three-branched military of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and its realm, promoting its interests, ...

showed that it had suffered "catastrophic" damage, with an entire village destroyed. According to the Tongan government, all homes on the island were destroyed, and a 65-year-old man was killed. After the eruption, the entire island was evacuated, and the inhabitants were bought to

Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukuʻalofa, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% o ...

by the Tongan Maritime Force. After living at a church hall in Nuku'alofa for almost a year, they were eventually resettled on ʻEua.

References

Islands of Tonga Populated places in Haʻapai {{Tonga-geo-stub