Results for Tonga

An 80 km stretch of Tonga's telecommunications cable, was blown to bits by a volcanic eruption on Jan. 15 and there's no easy fix. Short pieces have been recovered, while a major section of the fibre optic cable, about 55 km long, including an expensive repeater, has yet to be recovered from the seabed. By Mary Lyn Fonua

Three repatriation flights are scheduled to arrive in Tonga today from New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for MEIDECC, Hon. Poasi Tei, confirmed on Feb.14. They are the first passenger flights in over three months.

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.

Seventy-eight people have been charged by Tonga Police for breaching the current lock down restrictions in Tongatapu and Vava'u, which have been enforced since Feb. 4 to minimize and prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in the community.

Additional relief supplies from Japan arrived in Nuku'alofa on the OHSUMI defence ship yesterday, Feb. 9, to assist those affected by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption and tsunamis. Japanese Ambassador to Tonga, HE Mr Munenaga said this was the first visit by a Japan Maritime Self-Defence ship to Tonga in our history.

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.