A view taken on January 17, 2015 as steam and gas rise from the eruption of a volcano on Hunga Ha’apai. Image: Mary Lyn Fonua/AFP via Getty Images.
On Saturday, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted, sending plumes of ash into the atmosphere 30 kilometers away. It triggered a tsunami in the Tonga Islands that reached Alaska, destroying a volcanic cone that connected the uninhabited islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai.
The volcano lies about 65 kilometers northwest of Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa. Experts say it is one of the most powerful blowouts since the 1990s.
“The sea level gauge in Nuku’alofa (Tonga) recorded a tsunami wave of 1.19 meters before it stopped giving information,” explains Dr Hannah Power, of Newcastle University.
Connectivity of Tonga’s submarine cables to the outside world has been cut
“Waves of more than a meter have also been observed in Vanuatu and Norfolk Island, Australia, and as far as Chile. Waves of more than 50 centimeters were measured at several locations in New South Wales, Queensland, Fiji, the Cook Islands, New Caledonia and New Zealand. In the Pacific, tsunami waves have been observed along the coasts of North and South America and in Japan. »
“Before communications were cut, video reports showed extensive flooding from tsunami waves in Tonga, which damaged roads, buildings and infrastructure such as levees. Localized flooding and flooding was reported in Fiji, Chile, Ecuador and the United States. »
Connectivity of Tonga’s submarine cables with the outside world has also been cut. “TCL staff and all stations are fine (no damage) except the cables, both have a fault,” Tonga Cable Limited said. “The default is about 37 km from Nuku’alofa for international, and about 47 km from Nuku’alofa for domestic. »
The 827 kilometer submarine cable between Tonga and Fiji connects to the Southern Cross cable
The company adds that the information necessary for the repair has been gathered and that preparations to send a repair vessel will begin as soon as permission is granted – especially as the eruption is close to the repair site.
Southern Cross Cables clarifies that the Tonga cable has gone into single-feed mode, meaning it is fed from its landing site in Fiji, but not from the Tonga side.
“This may be due to a failure of Tonga’s power source. So initially it was not clear if the cable had broken or if it was a failure of the power equipment,” says Southern Cross.
“TCL is currently in contact with Subcom (South Pacific Cable Vessel Maintenance Authority) to arrange the repair. »
The 827 kilometer submarine cable between Tonga and Fiji connects to the Southern Cross cable. Commissioned in August 2013, it was jointly funded by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.
The repair vessel is currently in Papua New Guinea
Digicel, which operates a mobile network in the country, says its service was affected by the tsunami that hit Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu.
“Currently, all communications with the outside world of Tonga are affected due to damage to Tonga Cable Limited’s submarine cable following the volcanic eruption on the island of Hunga Ha’apai,” Digicel warns. .
“Digicel Tonga CEO Anthony Seuseu and his team are working with local authorities to urgently resolve the damage caused. We are working to restore our satellite backhaul connectivity and it will be available to a limited number of customers, including essential services and government. »
Digicel adds that its home cell phone towers are “in service” across Tongatapu.
In 2019, after Tonga’s cable suffered multiple cuts and a 12-day outage, the country signed a 15-year deal with Kacific for satellite connectivity.
Kacific has not yet responded to our request for comment, but the NZ Herald reports that clouds of dust and ash are making satellite service intermittent, and that the repair vessel is currently in Papua New Guinea.
Source: ZDNet.com