Tonga is in a national emergency! Envoy to Tanggar: More than a thousand Chinese citizens are safe

According to the New Zealand Radio website quoted a statement issued by the Tonga government on the 18th, the country's Hong Aha Apai Island submarine volcano erupted violently on the 14th and 15th, which has caused 3 deaths and some injuries. The Government of Tonga has declared a state of emergency in the country. Cao Xiaolin, my envoy to Tonga, said: "There are more than 1,000 Chinese citizens and company employees on the main island of Tonga. We conducted a thorough screening and they are safe, living and working normally. ”

Satellite image of Aha Apai Island in Tongahun taken by worldview02 satellite on April 11, 2021 (left) and satellite image of the island after volcanic eruption taken by Gaofen I satellite on January 17, 2022, with the orange curve showing the original outline of the island according to geographical coordinates.

The Safety of Chinese Citizens on the Main Island The overseas Chinese compatriots along the coast suffered heavy losses

The reporter learned through the connection between the Chinese Embassy in Fiji and the Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy in Tonga that after the volcanic eruption, our embassy in Tonga immediately launched an emergency plan to contact the local overseas Chinese on the main island of Tonga and inform them to avoid danger as soon as possible.

There are currently more than 1,000 Chinese citizens and company employees on the main island of Tonga. As of the time of the connection between the Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy in Tonga on the afternoon of the 17th, no Chinese citizens died on the main island of Tabu Island, but a few Chinese citizens were slightly injured.

It is understood that the personnel and premises of our embassy in Tonga are safe. Overseas Chinese engaged in commercial supermarket business in the coastal areas have suffered heavy losses, their houses and goods have been basically destroyed, and their farms are all covered with volcanic ash, and the supply of fresh vegetables in Tonga may be cut off in the next one or two months.

In addition, according to the official microblog of the Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the evening of the 17th, the Embassy in Tonga has contacted the man who was previously missing from his relatives in China to confirm his current safety.

At present, the power supply in Nuku'alofa has been restored by 80%, but the network is still not connected. Repairs to the Tonga submarine cable can take weeks. Only then will Tonga's external communications and network services be restored.

An island almost disappeared "the whole village was destroyed"

Hong Aha Apai Island consists of two small islands and volcanic rocks, but from the January 17 satellite image, it can be seen that the volcanic islands that were originally connected together have become two small islands, and the volcanic rocks in the middle have become water.

The Tonga government said in a statement that the residents of Mangau, Atata and Fornoyfua have all been evacuated, and all houses on Mangau island have been completely destroyed after the volcanic eruption on the 15th.

Turtis Tuihalanjingi, a Tonga diplomatic officer in Australia, told Reuters aerial images taken by New Zealand Air Force aircraft were "shocking", with a village on The island of Muang O completely destroyed and "a large number of buildings disappearing" on the nearby island of Atata.

Mang'ao Island and Atata Island are tens of kilometers away from Hong Aha Apai Island, where the submarine volcano erupted on the 15th, and have about 50 inhabitants and 100 people respectively. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it received distress messages from Mango Island. The Tonga Navy reported that the Hapai Islands, including Mang'ao Island, were hit by waves 5 to 10 metres high.

Rush to help

Fresh water became a much-needed item for the inhabitants of Tonga

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the Red Cross Society of China has decided to provide $100,000 in emergency humanitarian spot assistance to The Tang side. The Chinese side will provide further assistance within its capacity in accordance with the disaster situation and the needs of the Tang side.

A New Zealand Air Force Orion aircraft departed for Tonga on the 17th to assist it in the impact assessment of the disaster. At the request of Tonga Cable Company, a cable repair ship of The Communications Company will leave Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in the near future to repair submarine communication cables in Tonga.

Professor Cronin, an expert in volcanology at the University of Auckland, believes Tonga's freshwater supply and agriculture may have been severely affected and that international assistance will be crucial.

New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern said that because volcanic ash polluted water sources, fresh water has become an urgent need for local residents in Tonga, and the first rescue task of the New Zealand Defence Force is to deliver clean water to Tonga. A New Zealand Defence Force transport aircraft and a multifunctional warship are on standby, ready for further assistance. Earlier, Ardern said New Zealand would provide NZ$500,000 in emergency assistance to Tonga.

effect

Volcanic eruptions have spawned secondary disasters

Oliver Nebel, an associate professor of high-temperature geochemistry at Monash University in Australia, said on the 17th that Tonga is located in the Pacific Ring Of Volcanic Seismic Zone, and due to the collision of the earth's crust plates, the volcanoes located in the subduction zone will erupt violently. He introduced that this volcanic eruption is not caused by a single event, but a continuous accumulation of underground energy, so it is difficult to predict the volcanic eruption.

Professor Shaun Cronin, a volcanologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, introduced to the media on the 17th that the explosive lateral spread of the volcanic eruption in Tonga showed that it may be the largest global scale since the eruption of Pinatubo Volcano in the Philippines in 1991. After the eruption on the 15th, in addition to Tonga, fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and other parts of the country also had abnormal seawater activity, and these countries urgently issued tsunami warnings. In addition, Japan, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Chile have issued tsunami warnings.

At present, volcanic ash over parts of Tonga has subsided, but there are still large amounts of volcanic ash floating in the air. Neibel said that unlike the ash after the wood is burned, the volcanic ash is actually tiny rock particles, and if the aircraft passes through it, the windshield will be damaged, and the particles of volcanic ash will also melt and crystallize in the aircraft engine, which may cause the engine to stop, which is dangerous, so the volcanic ash will affect air traffic.

Professor Cronin also introduced that volcanic ash may also have a serious impact on Tonga's freshwater supply and agriculture. Volcanic ash not only endangers people's health, but also produces acid rain and leachate, which can damage crops. Acid rain can corrode crops, such as stems and leaves and leafy vegetables, and drinking water contaminated with volcanic ash can lead to stomach upset and other health problems, he said.

(Original title: More than a thousand Chinese citizens are safe)

Source: Beijing Evening News

Process Edit: U022