Whether there were dead or injured is just as unclear as the extent of the damage. According to New Zealand’s High Commissioner in the archipelago, Peter Lund, 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 badly affected. But there was concern above all about more remote islands, to which contact could still not be made. As communication links continued to be severely impaired, military aircraft from New Zealand and Australia reconnoitered the situation from the air on Monday. “Flights operated today will help us identify where there is a need,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. A Hercules machine should bring relief supplies to the area and, if necessary, drop them if the airport runway is too damaged. “We know that water is urgently needed,” said Ardern.
Apparently not very many people were injured or killed, but there was considerable damage, the Australian government said after the first reconnaissance flights. The government of the island state was concerned about the heavy ash rain because it could poison drinking water. In addition, the corona virus could be brought in by aid deliveries – so far Tonga was corona-free. “We don’t want another wave, no corona tsunami,” said Tonga’s Deputy Ambassador to Australia, Curtis Tu’ihalangingie.
concern for relatives
But it could have been much worse. If the volcano had unleashed its destructive power on land, the impact would have been “apocalyptic,” University of Auckland volcanologist Shane Cronin told Radio New Zealand. According to the expert, it was the world’s strongest eruption since the eruption of Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991. It is unclear whether the most recent eruption represents the peak of activity – the volcano may remain restless for weeks or even years.
Tongans working as seasonal workers in New Zealand were now concerned for their loved ones in the archipelago. Langi Fatanitavake, whose wife and son live on an island near the volcano, have not been able to contact them since the eruption. “Last night and today I tried to call but there is no answer,” he said on New Zealand radio. “I don’t have a good feeling about my family.” He also has no news from his sister, who lives on another island.
Timaru’s Sina Latu, whose family lives on the island of ‘Eua, said: “It just hurts, you feel so helpless and afraid.” She hopes for some sign of life from her loved ones. The sister transmitted the family’s escape from the tsunami and the ash rain live via Facebook, then the line broke off. “It was scary, we saw the waves coming,” Latu said. Tonga has around 170 islands, 36 of which are uninhabited.
Volcano is 1800 meters high
But what is that mountain of fire that threw up a cloud of ash for kilometers like a mushroom cloud on Saturday and sparked tsunami waves even in faraway countries? The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai is just 40 miles north of the capital of the Polynesian kingdom in the ocean. Almost a quarter of the 107,000 inhabitants live in Nuku’alofa. The volcano is a true underwater colossus: 1,800 meters high and 20 kilometers wide, it rises under the water surface.
The volcano erupted through the sea for the first time in 2009. At the turn of the year 2014/15, it began to simmer again and spat mud and ash fountains out of the Pacific for weeks. At that time, the eruption brought material to the surface for months, until finally a new, two-kilometer-long island was formed – which, to the astonishment of experts, stabilized over the years instead of disappearing again.
Ash reached Australian east coast
According to the weather service Weather Watch New Zealand, the plumes of ash released by the eruption have now even reached Queensland on Australia’s east coast. Saturday’s eruption could be heard thousands of miles as far away as New Zealand and Fiji. The eruption triggered tidal waves and put many Pacific countries on alert. Tsunami waves were recorded not only in Tonga, but also in New Zealand, Japan, Alaska and South America.
Video: The pressure waves were also measurable here.
Aid organizations warned of health damage from the ash and advised Tonga residents to wear masks and only drink bottled water. As a result of the seaquake, an important undersea cable was also cut, causing the Internet to fail in Tonga. The other communication links were also disrupted, but mobile phones seemed to be working at least partially, albeit only locally and not internationally.
“It is a terrible time but Nuku’alofa is still standing, electricity has been restored to many homes,” New Zealand’s High Commissioner Peter Lund wrote on Facebook. Clean-ups should start this week.
Source: Nachrichten
