Tonga gradually resumed contact with the outside world: the telephone was opened and the airport was ready

According to Reuters Sydney on January 19, Tonga's telephone contact with the outside world resumed from Wednesday, but according to the owner of Tonga's only submarine communication cable, it may take a month or more to fully restore internet connectivity.

Last Saturday's eruption of the Hongatonga-Hun Aha Apay volcano caused a communications outage in the country, which has about 105,000 people. The eruption killed at least three people and triggered a tsunami that affected the entire Pacific Ocean.

Telecom operator Digisel said late Wednesday that it had managed to restore international calling capabilities.

Digisel said it could not provide full network services until the submarine cables were repaired. Funua, chairman of the tonga cable company, the cable owner, said a professional vessel was scheduled to leave for repairs over the weekend from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

But he said the voyage was "lucky" to be able to complete the job in a month because of the uncertainty surrounding the eight or nine days of voyages to Samoa to pick up equipment and then to the crustal faults in the eruption area. In a telephone interview in Oakland, Funua said: "It may take longer than that. "He coordinated the restoration work in Auckland.

It was also reported that after several days of efforts, the Tongan government completed the clearance of the international airport runway, clearing the way for receiving urgent assistance that the country desperately needed.

Jonathan Vecchio, the U.N. crisis coordination officer, told reporters that the airport runway on Tonga's main island was already available.

After the eruption, the airport runway was covered with volcanic ash 5 to 10 centimeters thick. The local government has limited capacity and can only clear 100 to 200 meters of runways per day.

Mr. Vech said the airport runway "has been cleared but not yet operational" and That Tonga could land flights from Australia and New Zealand from Thursday.

Source: Reference News Network