Li’Oa: Driving to save lives from tsunami

The UNDP 'Tsunami Story Books' is a series of illustrated real-life stories from the Asia-Pacific region that aims to help children better understand the magnitude of a tsunami and how to be prepared. Each story features different community heroes and explains how children can protect themselves, their families, and friends from tsunamis and manage difficult emotions when confronted with a tsunami. The books - aimed primarily at children aged 6-11 years old - are part of the 'Strengthening School Tsunami Preparedness in Asia-Pacific', a United Nations Development Programme project, in partnership with the Government of Japan.

On 15 January 2022, the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted. On the same day, a tsunami struck the coast of Tonga, and Li’oa, driver of the Emergency Management Office, drove to save lives. “I got in the vehicle, turned on the siren, and asked people to get away from the coast.” Read the fascinating story in the fourth ‘UNDP Tsunami Story Book’.