Tonga is virtually isolated from the rest of the world after the eruption of an underwater volcano this Saturday that paralyzed the communications of this Pacific island country.
Experts warned that the internet connection could be cut for several weeks for the nearly 100,000 people who live in the country. The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haa’pai volcano covered Tonga with ash, causing a tsunami across the Pacific.
The eruption was felt as far away as Alaska, where it caused a wave that reached the Pacific coasts, from Japan to the United States. In Peru, it left two deaths due to the waves.
Neighboring countries and international agencies continue to assess the extent of the damage. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that they are “significant”.
New Zealand and Australia sent reconnaissance planes to assess the damage and made C-130 military transport planes available to drop supplies or land if the runways are deemed operational.
Saturday’s volcanic explosion severely damaged the capital, Nuku’alofa, covered in ash, and severed an underwater communications cable.
“We know that water is an immediate need,” Ardern told reporters, explaining that New Zealand relies on satellite phones to communicate with the country.
The New Zealand Defense Minister explained for his part that the island country had managed to restore electricity to “large parts” of the city.
With communications at a standstill, Tongans outside the country are desperately trying to talk to their loved ones.
Filipo Motulalo, a journalist who lives abroad, stated that he has not been able to count on his family “our house is close to the area that has already been flooded, so we do not know how much damage there is.” For Motulano, the worst of all has been “the fact that we don’t know anything”.
Regarding the internet, the director of networks for Southern Cross Cable Network, Dean Veverka said that could be cut for two weeks.
“We are receiving imprecise information, but it seems that the cable has been cut,” explained Veverka.
Southern Cross is helping Tonga Cable Limited, which owns the 872-kilometre cable that links the island country to Fiji and from there to the rest of the world.
In 2019, Tonga was cut off for two weeks when a ship’s anchor cut the cable. A small locally operated satellite service was then established to allow minimal contact with the outside world.
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