[6] In 1929 an eruption destroyed the village of Futu,[7][8] cut off the harbor, and killed all the vegetation on the western slopes of the island.

In December 1935 an eruption centered on the Ahofakatau and Hina craters caused the evacuation of Belani and Togamamao, and produced a two-mile wide lava-flow.

[10] A serious eruption began on 9 September 1946, beginning with a series of tremors and then a lava flow which destroyed the village of Angaha, including the government buildings and the wireless station.

[14] When radio contact was lost, an RNZAF aircraft on a flight to Samoa was requested to investigate, and reported the eruption to the outside world.

While the inhabitants initially planned to stay,[16] in mid-October the Tongan government issued a compulsory evacuation order.

[17] An initial attempt to evacuate the island using the New Zealand vessel Matua failed, as the ship arrived before the inhabitants were ready.

[28] Niuafoʻou was put on the European maps by Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire during their famous circumnavigation of the globe in 1616.

They found black cliffs that were green on top, plenty of coconut trees, some houses along the seaside, and a whole village near a landing place.

The trading went well, until the islanders tried to steal one of the ship’s small sounding boats, and the Dutch responded by firing on them.

[30] In April 1909 the island was struck by a severe tropical cyclone, which destroyed houses and killed seven people.

[33] That same year, scientists traveled to the island with a 65 foot long camera to observe the Solar eclipse of October 21, 1930.

[34] In January 2002, the island was devastated by Cyclone Waka, which destroyed hundreds of homes and killed one person.