Volcanic eruption off Tonga: "Unprecedented catastrophe" - Bitter consequences are slowly becoming known

Created: 01/19/2022 09:53

By: Patrick Huljina

After the gigantic volcanic eruption off Tonga, the government made an official statement in a first statement.

Accordingly, there are now three fatalities.

• Tonga is cut off from the outside world after a massive volcanic eruption.

• The submarine volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai erupted on Saturday (January 15, 2022).

• Tsunami waves rolled over entire islands.

  So far there have been three deaths.

Update from January 19, 8:19 a.m

.: There is little information after the eruption of the underwater volcano off Tonga. An important submarine cable broke in two places as a result of the seaquake. In the meantime, however, the international mobile phone provider Digicel has set up a bridging system via satellite on Tonga's main island of Tongatapu. However, the connections are "limited and patchy" and only cover 10 percent of usual capacity, the New Zealand government said.

Meanwhile, New Zealand sent two naval vessels with drinking water and other relief supplies towards Tonga. The local government approved the aid deliveries, it said. The ships could arrive in the region on Friday if the weather holds. As soon as the island kingdom's airport has been cleared of the ash, a plane from New Zealand will also bring other important aid supplies. Australia also wants to send a ship.

The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai submarine volcano lies just 40 miles north of Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, below the surface of the sea. It rises 1,800 meters from the seabed and is 20 kilometers wide. At least three people, including a British woman, were killed in the massive eruption on Saturday, according to the Tonga government. The Pacific kingdom of 107,000 people is now covered in a layer of ash that has also polluted drinking water.

Update from January 18, 4:20 p.m .:

Tonga’s government has confirmed at least three deaths in a first official statement since the massive eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in the Pacific.

The office of Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni announced on Tuesday that there were two locals and one British citizen.

The communication links to the island kingdom have been massively restricted since the outbreak on Saturday.

As a result of the "unprecedented catastrophe", injuries were also reported, it said.

Accordingly, the eruption created a volcanic ash cloud that covered all the islands of Tonga.

The eruption also caused tsunami waves up to 15 meters high.

Tonga's navy brought vital supplies to some islands.

On the low-lying island of Mango, from which a distress signal was received, all houses were destroyed.

Two houses remained on Fonoifua.

The islanders would be taken to safety by the navy.

The ash and damage to the piers made sea and air transport difficult, the statement said.

The two satellite images show the island of Nomuka in Tonga before (December 18, 2021) and after the volcanic eruption (January 19, 2022).

© European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery

Tonga: UN confirms two fatalities - first information on extent of damage

Update from January 18, 1:25 p.m .:

A thick layer of ash covers the otherwise colorful South Seas archipelago of Tonga.

The full extent of the massive eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in the Pacific is still unclear.

The communication links remained impaired on Tuesday.

"Communication remains the biggest problem as the internet and international phone lines are still down," the UN agency said.

The New Zealand government, citing the police in Tonga, said that two deaths had been confirmed so far.

One of the victims is a 50-year-old British woman who was hit by a tidal wave trying to save her dogs, her brother confirmed to the

.

The woman ran an animal shelter in Tonga.

There was initially no further information about the other dead.

After the volcanic eruption, large parts of Tonga are covered with ash.

© Vanessa Parker/dpa

On Tuesday, the UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA) in Geneva reported that at least 50 houses were destroyed and 100 others damaged by the eruption of the undersea volcano.

According to UN information, the two dead have been confirmed, and the second victim is a local.

Severe damage was reported near the coast.

However, the health facilities are functioning according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The main concern is the thick layer of ash that could have contaminated water reservoirs.

The population was asked to only drink bottled water.

Strongest volcanic eruption in decades: Tonga cut off from the outside world

Update from January 17, 5:11 p.m .:

After the gigantic eruption of a submarine volcano in the South Seas, a British woman apparently died. This is what her family has now announced. The British Foreign Office, on the other hand, announced on Monday that the woman was missing. According to the family, however, the woman is dead. Her husband found the body, the missing woman's brother told

. The woman was caught by a tidal wave when she tried to save her dogs. Accordingly, the couple had been living in the island state for several years.

First report from January 17th:

Nuku'alofa - According to experts, the eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in the South Pacific was the strongest in the world for decades.

Large parts of the island kingdom of Tonga are further cut off from the outside world.

The extent of the damage is unclear.

Likewise the number of dead and injured.

The volcanic eruption on Saturday (January 15) could be heard thousands of kilometers as far away as New Zealand and Fiji - even as far away as Alaska according to some reports.

Tsunami waves have been recorded not only in Tonga, but also in New Zealand, Japan, and North and South America.

Volcanic eruption off Tonga: extent of destruction still unclear

Even two days after the volcanic eruption off Tonga, there is hardly any information about the situation on site. As a result of the seaquake, an important undersea cable was cut, causing the Internet to fail in Tonga. Other communication links were also disrupted. Mobile phones seem to work partially, but only locally and not internationally. This was reported by New Zealand's High Commissioner Peter Lund via Facebook.

"It is a terrible time but Nuku'alofa is still standing, electricity has been restored in many homes," he wrote.

In his authority one can access the Internet via a satellite connection.

According to him, the capital Nuku'alofa was buried under a layer of ash and looked like a "lunar landscape".

The west coast of the main island of Tongatapu, where many holiday hotels are located, is particularly badly affected.

The cleanup is expected to start later this week.

The eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was the strongest in decades, according to experts.

© AAP Image/Tonga Meteorological Services/dpa

After volcanic eruption off Tonga: Australia and New Zealand send help from the air

To get an overview, military aircraft from New Zealand and Australia were to observe the situation from the air on Monday (January 17). "Flights operated today will help us identify where there is a need," said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. If necessary, aid supplies should be dropped if the airport runway is too damaged. "We know that water is urgently needed," Ardern said.

Australia's Development Minister Zed Seselja said a small contingent of Australian police officers stationed in Tonga had given "rather worrying" accounts of the situation.

International aid organizations are also hardly able to establish contact with their local employees.

"From the fragmentary information we have, the extent of the devastation appears to be quite extensive, particularly on the offshore islands," said Katie Greenwood of the International Federation of the Red Cross.

There are currently warnings of damage to health caused by the ash that has escaped.

Tonga residents are advised to wear masks and drink only bottled water.

Satellite images show the power of the volcano: Two islands can no longer be seen

Satellite images of the eruption suggest the destructive power of the volcano. According to volcanologist Shane Cronin from the University of Auckland, it was the world's strongest eruption since Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991. It is unclear whether the most recent eruption represents the peak of activity – the volcano may stay for weeks or even Years restless, he told

.

"You can compare the event with the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883," Andreas Schäfer told

. The eruption of the Indonesian volcano was one of the largest in history. Thousands of people died then. The bang was heard on a third of the world, tsunamis devastated surrounding coasts. According to Schäfer, the volcanic eruption off Tonga also caused submarine slopes to collapse, triggering tsunamis.

The geophysicist at the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM) explained that the tsunami waves appeared to have completely cleared two islands.

The uninhabited islands of Nuku and Tau, about 65 kilometers from the volcano, can no longer be seen on satellite images taken after the tsunamis passed.

One can only roughly recognize the underlying reef, says Schäfer.

Tonga volcanic eruption: Pressure wave also measurable in Germany

The erupted volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is located north of the capital of Tonga. Nearly a quarter of the Polynesian kingdom's 107,000 residents live in Nuku'alofa. 36 of the 170 islands belonging to Tonga are uninhabited. The volcano is a real underwater colossus: 1800 meters high and 20 kilometers wide, it rises under the water surface. During an eruption in 2009, it broke through the sea surface for the first time. At the turn of the year 2014-2015, it started bubbling again and spewed mud and ash fountains out of the Pacific for weeks.

The full extent of the damage after the volcanic eruption on Saturday cannot be estimated.

The pressure wave as a result of the eruption was also measurable in Germany, and the bang could be heard thousands of kilometers away.

Even the tsunami waves that hit Japan, California and South America were five feet high.

They didn't make it far inland and only caused minor damage.

However, two swimmers reportedly died in the strong currents in Peru.

There are also volcanoes in Germany.

However, the last eruption in the Eifel was around 13,000 years ago.

In autumn 2021, a volcanic eruption on La Palma caused destruction on the Canary Island.