Communications to the Tongan Islands have been limited since the eruption of the volcano in the Pacific

Communication for the Tongan Islands was tight on Monday, January 17, three days after the eruption of the Hanga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’bai volcano in the middle of the South Pacific, 65 km from the capital Nuku’aloba.

Thus the archipelago was left without internet Underwater communication cable may be disconnected. “We only get fragmented information, but the cable seems to be disconnected.”, Said Dean Weverka, director of the Southern Cross Cable Network.

“It could take up to two weeks to fix it. The nearest cable-laying vessel is in Port Moresby.He added that Papua New Guinea’s capital is located 4,000 kilometers from Tonga. Southern Cross, the owner of the 872 km cable that connects Tonga to Fiji and the rest of the world, is assisted by Tonga Cable Limited. Initially, the internet outage was said to have been caused by a power outage caused by a powerful explosion, but tests conducted after the power was restored revealed that a cable had broken.

The Little Pacific Kingdom, located about 1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand, had already been isolated for two weeks in 2019, when a ship’s anchor cut the cable. A small, domestically operated satellite service set up to help maintain minimal contact with the outside world.

International assistance

The tiny South Pacific nation is battling to recover from an ash-covered volcanic eruption in the capital, Nuku’aloba. Authorities in neighboring New Zealand said the disaster had occurred “Significant damage”, But no injuries or deaths have been reported so far in the archipelago. On the other hand, two women drowned on a beach in northern Peru, 10,000 km away, from the tsunami. “Extraordinary waves”, The local National Emergency Operations Center announced Sunday.

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New Zealand is conducting surveillance flights over Tonga on Monday to assess the extent of the damage, and reports are coming in droplets and sluggish conditions.

According to Canberra, Tonga also accepted the Australian offer to send a surveillance aircraft. Australia was also getting ready “Essential Humanitarian Supplies” To send. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) produces emergency supplies in collaboration with Australia and New Zealand. The United States and the World Health Organization (WHO) have said they are ready to send aid.

Heard an explosion all the way to Alaska

Shocking views from space show the time of Friday’s eruption of Hanga-Tonga-Hunga-Hapai, one of the archipelago’s uninhabited islands. It was heard all the way to Alaska, lasting eight minutes and sending gas, ash and smoke several miles high. The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude 5.8 earthquake at zero.

Waves of 1.2 meters high swept through the capital of Tonga, where residents fled to high ground, leaving flooded houses as rocks and ash fell from the sky.

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The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. Waves about 1.2 meters high hit the Pacific coast of Japan. In California, the city of Santa Cruz was inundated by a tsunami wave.

The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano erupted in 2009 and in 2015 erupted several large boulders and ash, forming a new island two kilometers long, one kilometer wide and 100 meters high.

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January 17 at 3:40 am Corrigandum: Edited title and article ‘Another big bang’ is active. This information has not been confirmed by warning centers based on a warning from the Australian Volcanic Monitoring Center (VAAC) in Darwin.

World with AFP

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