Disaster in Tonga
A cataclysmic volcanic eruption, that had its shockwave circle the world twice, has been calculated as 500 times more powerful than the American nuclear attack on Hiroshima.
Source - New Zealand Defence Force via Getty Images
When the disastrous Sumatran earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated Indonesia and shorelines all across the Indian Ocean, the world was in shock. Thousands of lives were lost, and thousands more lost homes and livelihoods. Earlier this month a similar catastrophe, albeit this time being the largest volcanic eruption in modern history, took place in the Pacific Ocean.
Tonga, a nation not unlike the Maldives in multiple aspects, suffered cataclysmic destruction on the 15 January 2022, with the eruption of a neighbouring, festering, volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai and the tsunami that followed. The country of a little over 100,000 people distributed unequally over 270 thousand square miles, and 35 islands, was cut off from the world for nearly a whole day since the eruption. Being a Commonwealth nation meant that aid was dispatched almost immediately, with New Zealand and Australian authorities quick to respond to the disaster as was the UK.
When the volcano erupted in a series of increasingly deafening explosions, the shockwave circled around the world twice. Scientists have calculated that the force of the explosion was almost 500 times more powerful than the American nuclear attack on Hiroshima. Three islands closest to the eruption were hit with sea waves that reportedly towered over 50 feet, while shorelines all across the Pacific, from Fiji to Alaska to Japan, experienced waves that were nearly a metre tall.
While three deaths have been confirmed, the extent of the damage is still unknown. Aid had a tough time reaching the Tongan people as the airport landing strips were caked in ash from the volcanic fallout. The volcano had been exhuming sulphur and ammonia for several days already, with warnings already broadcast. Authorities assume that this forewarning was what saved thousands of people from being affected fatally, even though the effect was still immense.
Entire settlements were wiped out as satellite imagery showed comparison imagery. Not only were houses close to the shore knocked down, the rest of the region was blanketed by ash, hindering aid to the most affected regions. The nation's undersea submarine cable was ruptured in two places, and the most optimistic estimates puts full reconnections at least weeks away.
The IFRC claims that over 80,000 people, from the 100,000, are affected and in need of aid. Clean water was the biggest priority, and is already being shipped by foreign aid from all over the world. According to Al Jazeera, a New Zealand maritime sustainment vessel, the HMNZS Aotearoa, carrying 250,000 litres of water and able to produce 70,000 litres per day through a desalination plant, was expected to arrive in Tonga on Friday.
Flights were established on Thursday, after the hundreds of volunteers cleared the runway, carrying water for sanitation and hygiene as well as shelter, communication equipment, and power generators, provided by New Zealand and Australia. Two Japanese C-130H aircraft carrying aid supplies, including water, was also dispatched from Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture for Tonga on Thursday.
As always, the helping hand is also a tool of diplomacy, and this case is no different. According to BBC, China has also pledged USD100,000 in relief cash assistance and a batch of emergency supplies. Tonga is one of the key Pacific island nations, in an increasingly-contested region which has seen an influx of loans and donations from China.
Going forward, China will continue to provide assistance in cash and supplies based on the situation and Tonga's needs.
China is now the second-largest donor of foreign aid in the region behind Australia, analysts say. Earlier this week, former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd tweeted: "Australia must be the first and foremost giving assistance to Tonga. Otherwise China will be there in spades.”
Tonga, much like the Maldives, is mostly reliant on tourism for their income, yet since the pandemic began, their borders had remained closed. They reported their one and only COVID-19 case in October last year, and the nations providing the emergency relief now are being mindful of contactless delivery, to ensure a pandemic cluster does not manifest on top of the current disaster recovery.
Heart-wrenching survivor stories are constantly being published since the fateful day. One such story involved a man without the ability to use his legs having been swept away by the tsunami, surviving for 27 hours by clinging onto a log before making it back to shore. Other stories of fear and apprehension speak of families being held together by barely a thread of hope of survival, disconnected for hours and sometimes days before finally reuniting. The people of Tonga are still disoriented and finding their grounding, trying to salvage what remains of their worst-hit areas and their shattered livelihoods.
As for the volcano, Hunga Tonga-Hung Ha’aipa conjoined two islands into one with the eruption. The two islands were in essence the edges of the caldera, with the volcano situated between them and over a thousand metres above the sea floor. Satellite imagery from after the eruption showed how an ash-covered island now exists where there were two, and the after-effects were still being felt in the area.
The explosion was seen from space, shockwaves rippling across the atmosphere to be both heard in places as far as Fiji, and felt by barometers in the UK, halfway around the world. The Maldivian archipelago lies on a chain of volcanos that had erupted in ancient times and now long since extinct.
A key takeaway from this event is how the world reacts and comes to the aid of the small and the vulnerable, and the importance of diplomacy and engagement. It also highlights the importance of preparation and early warning systems, and with the freakish weather systems being experienced in the Maldives over the past few decades, the nation needs also to be vigilant and ready — the 2004 tsunami being the major indicator out of several other events before and after.
Climate change has drastically affected weather patterns and seasons, and the destruction of mangroves and coral reefs have made the islands even more susceptible to the changing moods of the ocean. Both the pandemic and natural disasters always point out the lacuna in the preparedness, and it is the responsibility of people and nations to keep that in mind when shaping the world for tomorrow.
