Results for Pacific Islands

The Tonga Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcanic eruption, tsunami and ashfall has caused an estimated US$90.4M (TOP 208 million) in damages – the equivalent of approximately 18.5% of Tonga’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – a World Bank assessment for the Government of Tonga has found.

The impact of the tsunami and volcanic eruption on 'Atata and surrounding islands is most visible from the air. “The wave must have been huge,” said Royal Australian Navy Chaplain Simote Finau, who went ashore with around 30 Australians from the Operation Tonga Assist taskforce, after the locals had evacuated. New photos taken for damage surveys they conducted were released on Friday.

The New Zealand Defence Force ships HMNZ Canterbury and HMNZ Wellington left Tonga last Friday after assisting with relief efforts following last month’s undersea eruption and tsunami. The NZDF’s deliveries of aid and water have been contactless. Helicopters on board have surveyed damaged areas, and flew Digicel technicians to uninhabited Kao Island to assist in work to restore communications links to Ha’apai.

Canned pork, gifted to Tonga as part of Chinese emergency food aid delivery, became the source of a diplomatic incident between the development partners, after Tongan officials stopped the distribution of swine products. The Tonga government expressed “profound regrets”.

When a volcano in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga began erupting in late-December 2021 and then violently exploded in mid-January 2022, NASA scientist Jim Garvin and colleagues were unusually well positioned to study the events. Ever since new land rose above the water surface in 2015 and joined two existing islands, Garvin and an international team of researchers have been monitoring changes there. The team used a combination of satellite observations and surface-based geophysical surveys to track the evolution of the rapidly changing piece of Earth. Now all of the new land is gone, along with large chunks of the two older islands. Story, pictures and links - NASA Earth Observatory.

Twenty new positive COVID-19 tests were reported in Tonga today, and they are all close contacts and family members of previous cases.

Progress has been slow today, Monday, in the search for the Fiji end of Tonga's submarine telecommunications cable - suspected to be broken in several places. Bad weather and rough seas persist in the area. The cable repair ship Reliance recovered the Tonga end of the international cable over the weekend, and secured it at 7:00am Saturday. The ship also recovered a 1.2km long piece of separated submarine cable.

Two new COVID-19 positive cases, bring the active number to seven for Tonga, Prime Minister Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni, told a Sunday afternoon press conference. The 48-hours national lockdown, which expired today at 6:00pm, has been extended for 14-days for Tongatapu and Vava’u, as testing and vaccinations are continued.

Aotearoa New Zealand is donating an additional 9,300 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Tonga, and $3 million in humanitarian funding. A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules has departed Base Auckland Whenuapai earlier today, Feb. 5, carrying the vaccines, rapid antigen tests, and equipment to support re-establishing the electrical network.