Tonga is still in a state of disconnection, and diplomats in Australia say that Tang's domestic communications have basically resumed

The Paper's reporter Nan Boyi

This January 15 satellite image captures the eruption of an undersea volcano in Tonga. Xinhua News Agency Photo

Recently, an eruption of an undersea volcano in the South Pacific island nation of Tonga triggered a tsunami that caused the country's cables to be cut. At present, Tonga is still in a state of disconnection, and network communication with the outside world may take up to two weeks to fully recover. However, local officials said domestic communications in Tonga had been restored.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported on January 17 that 80,000 people in Tonga may have been affected by the eruption, according to the BBC on January 17. New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern said the tsunami had caused "significant damage". Ardern previously revealed that New Zealand has contacted the Office of the New Zealand High Commissioner in Tonga via satellite phone, and nuku'alofa and other places are currently seriously damaged. New Zealand Foreign Minister Mahuta said Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, had now restored 80 per cent of its electricity, but the local network remained disrupted. Katie Greenwood, Fiji, IFRC, said: "We are concerned about the people of Tonga and we hope to hear from them as soon as possible. ”

Agence France-Presse reported on January 17 that the Southern Cross cable network, which is responsible for Tonga's external communications, said it would take up to two weeks to repair Tonga's damaged submarine communication cables. The communications company's network director, Veverka, revealed that the nearest cable laying ship to Tonga is located in Port Moresby, the capital of another South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea.

According to Reuters reported on January 18, Curtis Tu'ihalangingie, a Tongan diplomat in Australia, said that Tonga's domestic communications have been basically restored, but external communications have not yet been restored. In addition to this, the report noted that Tonga reported the first tsunami victims. An English woman named Glover was swept away in the tsunami.

On January 14 and 15, local time, an undersea volcano erupted on Aha Apai Island in Tongahong, Nuku'alofa monitored a tsunami, and Japan, the United States, New Zealand, Fiji and other countries issued tsunami warnings. On the 17th, Australia and New Zealand sent reconnaissance planes to Tonga to investigate the disaster. However, in the case of unstable power and communications in Tonga, it is not clear to the outside world that the severity of the disaster in Tonga is not known.

Responsible editor: Zhu Runyu Photo editor: Shen Ke

Proofreader: Shi Gong