Overview
Climate resilience is not only seawalls and shelters. It is also access to trusted information, digital skills, safe ways to communicate — and the confidence to use them when disaster strikes.
The climate signal
The featured dataset is the official Blue Pacific 2050 indicator “Number of people affected by disaster”, from the Pacific Data Hub’s climate-change dataset list for the 2026 challenge.
People in Tonga affected by disaster, 2020–2023
Each square is 1 in 10 people. Share is approximate: ~80,000 affected against a 2021 census population of about 100,200.
View as table
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| People affected by disaster, Tonga (2020–2023) | ~80,000 |
| Population, 2021 census (approx.) | ~100,200 |
| Approximate share affected | ~80% |
Source: Pacific Data Hub, Blue Pacific 2050 climate & disasters indicators. Check against the latest PDH.stat extract before final publication.
Why it matters for digital resilience
- iDisasters cut access to communication and essential services — in January 2022, the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption severed Tonga’s only international internet cable.
- iiWomen, children and vulnerable groups often face extra barriers during response and recovery.
- iiiDigital literacy helps people find reliable information and avoid scams and misinformation.
- ivCyber safety matters more when communities lean on digital channels in a crisis.
- vSTEM and data skills help young people understand risk and design local solutions.
What TWICT does
TWICT empowers women and girls in Tonga through ICT, STEAM and technical fields — advancing participation, equality and digital confidence across eight connected programme areas.
Digital Literacy
Practical skills for communities, women, youth and schools to take part confidently in the digital economy.
Cyber Safety
Awareness and protection against cyberbullying, scams, online abuse and other digital risks.
STEM
School outreach and science activities that open STEM pathways for girls and young people.
Digital Advocacy
Using technology and evidence to support public engagement, policy dialogue and inclusive decisions.
Climate & Digital Resilience
Linking climate awareness with communication, data, digital safety and community preparedness.
Connectivity
Community-centred connectivity and sustainable digital infrastructure for underserved communities.
Women in Tech
Pathways for women and girls to learn, lead, mentor and participate in ICT.
GEDSI
Gender equality, disability and social inclusion embedded across every programme.
Further areas include Digital Self-Defense, Internet Governance and Sustainable Peering Infrastructure.
From data to action
The resilience pathway TWICT works along — each stage builds on the last, from first access to communities that can respond, recover and innovate.
Awareness
Understanding climate and digital risks.
Skills
Hands-on digital literacy and STEM.
Confidence
Women and girls using tech with assurance.
Safe use
Recognising scams, abuse and misinformation.
Preparedness
Trusted channels ready before disaster.
Community action
Responding, recovering and innovating together.
What success looks like
Data sources & methodology
Official challenge source. Pacific Dataviz Challenge 2026 / Pacific Data Hub. The Blue Pacific 2050 climate & disasters framework includes the indicator “Number of people affected by disaster”. The Pacific Data Hub also publishes the related SDG 11.5.1 / 13.1.1 measure of people directly affected by disasters per 100,000 population.
Population. Tonga 2021 Population and Housing Census (approx. 100,200), used only to express the disaster figure as a share.
Organisational source. Tonga Women in ICT (TWICT) — mission, programme areas and public programme information.
Before publication. The disaster figure should be checked against the latest PDH.stat extract. No TWICT programme results are shown here: replace the descriptive sections with verified monitoring data (participants, sessions, locations) when it is available — never estimated or illustrative values.
The pathway in section 03 is a conceptual framework, not measured data.