Niuafoʻou has been an active volcano for thousands of years. In 1853, the village of ʻAhau was destroyed, killing 25 people. Lava flows from eruptions in 1912 and 1929 destroyed the village of Futu, cut off the harbor, and killed all the vegetation on the western slopes of the island. Other eruptions occurred in 1935, 1936, 1943, and 1946. The 1946 eruption was a particularly violent one and in December 1946 Niuafoʻou's inhabitants were evacuated and resettled on the island of ʻEua. ʻEua and Niuafoʻou share many place names, (see list of cities in Tonga) showing where the resettlers went to. The first groups of inhabitants were allowed to return to the island in 1958.