Reverend Kisina Toetu'u and his wife Maa'imoa will never forget the deafening blast and intensity of Tonga's undersea volcanic eruption.
Everything shook, then the sky started to turn dark.
"Everyone was just running and crying," Reverend Toetu'u told the ABC.
The explosion from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano was the largest documented by researchers since 1883, triggering a tsunami that generated waves up to 15 metres high.
The people of Mango Island — one of the closest to the volcano — could see the giant waves approaching.
"We couldn't grab anything, we just ran," Reverend Toetu'u said.
An 81-year-old woman and a baby wearing nothing but a nappy were among the group that fled to the top of a hill where they remained for four days.
Below them, their entire island was flattened, covered in ash, and every home destroyed.
One man from the community was killed.
Six months on, the 62 evacuees remain living in a church hall on Tonga's main island Tongatapu — they will never resettle on the island they once called home.
Around 85 per cent of Tonga's population was impacted by the January 15 disasters, three people were killed and thousands displaced.
International aid to the Pacific nation was swift, but it left the kingdom vulnerable to COVID-19.
An outbreak of the virus in February hampered recovery efforts and overall the progress has been slow.
Despite the triple disasters, communities have been showing innovation and resilience, and there are ambitious resettlement plans in the works.
And now there is hope the situation is "getting much better," according to local aid workers on the ground.
New first-of-its-kind village to rehome hundreds
Out of the ashes of January's eruption, a new village is being built on Matatoa Island.
The Paletu'a Project is a first of its kind for modern Tonga with the purpose to rehome hundreds of Kanokupolu people.
Along with the Ha'apai island group, their village on the west coast of Tongatapu was among the hardest-hit by the tsunami.
The $15 million initiative is being led by the Tongan King and Queen and is expected to be completed in around two years.
It also includes plans to resettle the Mango Island community to 'Eua Island where 18 new houses will be built.
While the development on 'Eua is being completed, the Mango people will be moved to temporary homes as early as next month, Reverend Toetu'u said.
The project's manager, Mosese Vakasiuola, said the plans for Matatoa island are vast.
It is the first time the country will develop a settlement area from scratch, he said.
"It's going to have road systems, electrical, water supply and residential homes together with town facilities, a town hall and all those bits and pieces," he said.
But despite being in a six-month limbo, not everyone is happy with the prospects of never returning home.
"The younger generation accept the fact that they have to move in terms of safety and for the future of their dreams. The older generation still have a strong link to where they grew up," Mr Vakasiuola said.
Tonga Red Cross secretary-general Sione Taumoefolau said from what he's heard from locals, "it's a 50-50 of people who want to go and those who want to stay".
But he believes this is the best solution, with the new village designed to withstand a category-4 cyclone.
Reverend Toetu'u said most of the people from his community are aware that it isn't safe to return to their island and are fine with relocating, but he worries about their livelihoods.
When he returned to Mango Island recently, all he salvaged was one fishing boat — from their fleet of nine — which had been flung to the top of a hill by a wave.
"The government promised they will replace all of the boats, so we're still hoping that that will happen," Reverend Toetu'u said.
The community is grateful for all the food, clothing and supplies the government has provided, but assistance obtaining boats is that next crucial element of support, he added.
Calls for mental health and social support
Concerns have been raised for the mental health and social impacts associated with losing identity and having to start a new life.
Mr Vakasiuola said there is a complementary plan to support those who are in the new settlement.
But Drew Havea from the Civil Society Forum of Tonga (CSFT) — an umbrella organisation for NGOs — believes more needs to be done now to improve communication between the government and people displaced.
"There's been very little consultation on the whole relocation from a civil society perspective. There needs to be more consultation," he told the ABC.
"What we need is a clear policy on dislocation and relocation of people. We need to have a road map on what this means so people understand."
The CSFT is trying to ensure a support network will be in place at the new village.
In the meantime, they have been getting materials for weaving and other past-times to evacuation centres so people have ways to spend their days and generate income.
Although time is taking its toll and there is some relocation resistance, Mr Havea says overall there is a sense of hope.
"Hope and faith that what they are waiting for will be much better than where they came from," he said.
COVID-19 adds to rebuild stress
The resettlement project is just one part of the nation's recovery effort, which Mr Vakasiuola says is coming along slowly.
"In terms of food security and the livelihood of people it's pretty fast," he said.
"The slow part is the construction of infrastructures we have identified; it is the nature of the beast."
Crystal Áke, a safeguard coordinator for the MORDI Tonga Trust, said the slowdown of the rebuilding effort was largely due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The NGO, which helps vulnerable communities in rural areas, had to halt a lot of their initial work due to COVID risks.
"The community as well, at large, they were very apprehensive," Ms Áke said.
"They knew what COVID could do, they've seen it, we've seen it happen in Fiji. And so a lot of them actually requested that we halt a lot of the work that we were supposed to do."
Ms Áke expects resettling communities displaced by the eruption will "take some time".
"So moving forward, we are actually targeting a lot of these communities to get them into food and water security, before we move on to resettlement," she said.
Last month, the World Bank pledged an additional $US20 million ($28 million) to bolster the country's recovery efforts.
Tonga's Finance Minister Tatafu Moeaki said the disasters had led to and "unanticipated financing gap," and he welcomed the extra support five months on.
He said it will help them better prepare for and mitigate against disasters and climate-related emergencies.
Australia has also provided support packages of up to $19 million since January and sent Australian Defence Force personnel to assist with clean-up efforts, and deliver equipment and disaster relief supplies.
Community shows innovation and resilience
Despite the challenges, Ms Áke is optimistic Tonga is on the path to recovery and that things are returning to normal.
"I feel as if Tonga is making good progress... in assisting each other. I think we're making the best of what we have at the moment and what we can do," she said.
"Our spirits are higher because we see that the community themselves are always very proactive. And so I think that's one of the best things that we can see is that people are still in high spirits."
Mr Havea has also witnessed the community finding innovative ways to grow crops, saying some of the agriculture recovery on the main island has been "quite amazing".
"A lot of the women's groups are standing up and planting vegetables," he said.
"I think that is something quite new, that we are seeing the participation of women in agriculture."
He said they will continue to provide planting materials and equipment to assist with farming.
