In the wake of a violent volcanic eruption in Tonga, much of the communication with residents on the islands remains at a standstill. In our modern, highly-connected world, more than 95 percent of global data transfer occurs along fibre-optic cables that criss-cross through the world’s oceans.

Breakage or interruption to this critical infrastructure can have catastrophic local, regional and even global consequences.

This is exactly what has happened in Tonga following Saturday’s volcano-tsunami disaster. But this isn’t the first time a natural disaster has cut off critical submarine cables, and it won’t be the last.

The video below shows the incredible spread of submarine cables around the planet – with more than 885,000 km of cable laid down since 1989. These cables cluster in narrow corridors and pass between so-called critical “choke points” which leave them vulnerable to a number of natural hazards including volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides, earthquakes and tsunamis.

Animation of spread of global submarine cable network between 1989 and 2023. Video: ESRI

What exactly has happened in Tonga?
Tonga was only connected to the global submarine telecommunication network in the last decade. Its islands have been heavily reliant on this system as it is more stable than other technologies such as satellite and fixed infrastructure.

The situation in Tonga right now is still fluid, and certain details have yet to be confirmed — but it seems one or more volcanic processes (such as the tsunami, submarine landslide or other underwater currents) have snapped the 872km long fibreoptic cable connecting Tonga to the rest of the world.

The cable system was not switched off or disconnected by the authorities.

This has had a massive impact. Tongans living in Australia and New Zealand cannot contact their loved ones to check on them. It has also made it difficult for Tongan government officials and emergency services to communicate with each other, and for local communities to determine aid and recovery needs.

Thank you all for the messages. No word from my Father or Family in Haapai. All communication in Tonga is out.
I have setup a fundraiser, link in bio for anyone wanting to help. Whilst I can’t assist family at this moment I will focus on country as more Information comes out. pic.twitter.com/1MCtnH5CNw

— Pita Taufatofua (@pitaTofua) January 15, 2022

Telecommunications are down, as are regular internet functions – and outages keep disrupting online services, making things worse.

Tonga is particularly vulnerable to this type of disruption as there is only one cable connecting the capital Nuku’alofa to Fiji, which is more than 800km away. No interisland cables exist.

It could be weeks before Tonga’s crucial undersea cable – which connects it to the world – is back online.https://t.co/5FmWdfJorc

— RNZ Pacific (@RNZPacific) January 17, 2022

Risks to submarine cables elsewhere
The events in Tonga once again highlight how fragile the global undersea cable network is and how quickly it can go offline. In 2009, I coauthored a study detailing the vulnerabilities of the submarine telecommunications network to a variety of natural hazard processes.

And nothing has changed since then.

Cables are laid in the shortest (that means cheapest) distance between two points on the Earth’s surface. They also have to be laid along particular geographic locations that allow easy placement, which is why many cables are clustered in choke points.

Some good examples of choke points include the Hawai’ian islands, the Suez Canal, Guam and the Sunda Strait in Indonesia. Inconveniently, these are also locations where major natural hazards tend to occur.

Once damaged it can takes days to weeks (or even longer) to repair broken cables, depending on the cable’s depth and how easily accessible it is. At times of crisis, such outages make it much harder for governments, emergency services and charities to engage in recovery efforts.

Many of these undersea cables pass close to or directly over active volcanoes, regions impacted by tropical cyclones and/or active earthquake zones.

In many ways, Australia is also very vulnerable (as is New Zealand and the rest of the world) since we are connected to the global cable network by a very small number of connection points, from just Sydney and Perth.

In regards to Sydney and the eastern seaboard of Australia, we know large underwater landslides have occurred off the coast of Sydney in the past. Future events could damage the critical portion of the network which links to us.

How do we manage risk going forward?
Given the vulnerability of the network, the first step to mitigating risk is to undertake research to quantify and evaluate the actual risk to submarine cables in particular places on the ocean floors and to different types of natural hazards.

For example, tropical cyclones (hurricanes/typhoons) occur regularly, but other disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen less often.

Currently, there is little publicly available data on the risk to the global submarine cable network. Once we know which cables are vulnerable, and to what sorts of hazards, we can then develop plans to reduce risk.

At the same time, governments and the telecommunication companies should find ways to diversify the way we communicate, such as by using more satellite-based systems and other technologies.

Dr Dale Dominey-Howes is professor of hazards and disaster risk sciences at the University of Sydney. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

BRIEFING: By Sylvester Gawi in Tari, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea’s Highlands earthquake disaster has brought to light some of the many things that need to be considered in assisting those affected by disaster and restoring vital infrastructures and communication links between relief agencies and the people.

The response to the 7.5 magnitude earthquake on February 26 took almost a week for the National Disaster Centre to find out statistics of people who were affected, casualties, homes and food gardens destroyed and how to deliver relief supplies to those affected.

While a small team of medical officers in Hela and Southern Highlands provinces have been hard at work trying to reach and assist the affected communities, more deaths and injuries were reported from areas unreachable by road and telecommunications.

READ MORE: PNG quake – an invisible disaster which could change life forever

These are some of the impediments to getting accurate statistics;

• Most communities do not have schools, clinics and ward offices that will keep the records of people in their wards or communities.
• No road links to almost all the areas affected. The rugged terrain also makes it difficult for roads to be constructed and maintained.
• No telecommunication reception, or television and radio signals by which the people can be advised and educated on the disasters and how to avoid destruction.

At Timu village in Komo-Magarima, Hela province, 11 people were were killed by landslips caused by the earthquake.

Four out of the 11 bodies were recovered while the other seven bodies are still buried under the debris.

Timu village is just a few tens of kilometres away from the provincial capital Tari but it is way back in terms of basic services available for the people.

No benefits from gas pipeline
The people knew that there is a gas pipeline running through their neighbouring villages from Hides to the Papuan coastline but they have not seen the benefits from the gas and petroleum extraction in the province.

Teams of researchers and volunteers from relief agencies were tasked to collect data, informations and statistics of people who have been affected, but they can only be flown by helicopter into the affected areas.

There are no medivac helicopters to transport relief supplies and doctors into the affected communities.

The PNG Defence Force, Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and Adventist Aviation Services were kind enough to do trips into these remote communities.

The cost of hiring a helicopter in PNG is quite expensive. Helicopter companies are charging around K5000 (about NZ2200) an hour. With most communities being isolated in the remote areas, it is costly and ineffective to attend to more than five villages in a day.

The Australian Defence Force Hercules aircraft transporting relief supplies from Port Moresby, Lae and Mt Hagen has been landing at Moro airport, then smaller aircraft bring the supplies back to Tari and offload onto helicopters to distribute.

Disaster response in PNG has been very slow and hasn’t improved from previous experiences.

Volcano displaced islanders
In February 2018, I was in Wewak when a volcanic island began releasing smoke after being dormant for more than two centuries. The Kadovar Island volcano has displaced more than 600 islanders who are now seeking refuge at a temporary care centre supported by aid agencies.

Again the experiences from the Manam volcano in Madang hasn’t helped the authorities to sort out a permanent resettlement area for the displaced islanders. Slow response from the National Disaster Centre has caused greater loss for the people in the last three years.

They’ve lost their culture and they have lost their way of life on Manam island while living at the care centre at Bogia.

The National Disaster team should be the first people on ground after the disaster strikes.

They must be the first to make contact with the affected people, not turning up a week later only to find out that people died while waiting to receive treatment.

I hope the present disaster will provide an insight into issues that need to be addressed by the Papua New Guinea government to ensure the National Disaster Centre is adequately and constantly funded to serve its purpose.

Sylvester Gawi is a National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) journalist who blogs independently at Graun Blong Mi – My Land.

• More PNG earthquake stories

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Professor Chalapan Kaluwin of the University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Natural and Physical Sciences says the country should prepare itself for more natural disasters. EMTV News

By Scott Waide of EMTV News

Our biggest challenge as Papua New Guinean journalists has been verifying the statistics from rural areas with limited resources. As much as possible, I’ve tried to talk to a victim of the earthquake or someone close to a victim.

Over the last 24 hours, it has been more of a “hit-and-miss” situation. People have been sending me text messages at 2am in the morning when they are in a mobile coverage area.

Then they have have to go back to their villages or deal with the ongoing tremors. Getting in touch has been difficult.

READ MORE: Earthquake disaster death toll stands at 31

So far, the current death toll from Monday’s 7.5 magnitude earthquake stands at 31.

The three separate sources in Southern Highlands, Hela and Western Provinces have also said the number of those injured and missing remain uncertain at this stage.

I note that overseas media is quoting a figure of 300. Truth is, we don’t really know.

Village deaths
With the help of Milton Kwaipo, I was able to get a recorded interview of Firmin Tiki, from Pureni village, Hela province who confirmed six deaths in his village alone.

Several of those injured by the quake have been take to Tari hospital for treatment. Again, we don’t know how many have been injured.

“Six people died. I don’t know how many injured. But there are many.”

Tiki, a rice farmer at a National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI), had just returned to his village when the quake struck early Monday.

“All our houses, our gardens have been destroyed. I don’t know about other places but we were hit hard,” he said.

It has been difficult getting in tough with Tari hospital.

Although I note the doctors have been working under difficult conditions to get through their surgeries using mobile phones torches.

13 people buried
Across the Strickland River in villages near the epicentre on the Hela-Western border, a community Health Worker, Paul Isilawa, confirmed that 13 people were buried on Monday.

They belong to the Edolo tribe whose hamlets are located in an area difficult to get to.

Sally Lloyd who grew up in the Western Province said nine of those who died are from Fau and four are from Aiya. Both villages are within Hela Provincial boundary. The reports were sent from the Mogulu Mission Station in Western Province by two-way radio.

In Mendi, Catholic Priest Fr. Pius Hal, said that 11 people including four children are confirmed dead. Two of the children belong to a local level government president. One family is still buried under a landslip.

“I am at the site where the family is buried. There is a lot of uncertainly about whether help will come. People are traumatised and they need to be comforted.

“The family who is buried are my relatives. They had just returned from Hagen the day before,” he said.

Many thanks
A great many thanks to the families of those on the ground. Thank you also to the police who were kind enough to provide verification and direction.

My gratitude also goes to the many “citizen journalists” who provided contacts, independent reports, pictures, audio recordings and videos of the destruction. There are too many people to name.

Mobile phone towers destroyed by the quake are slowly being repaired. So far, other information coming from far flung areas has remained unverified. The death toll is expected to rise as new information becomes available.

We still have a lot of work to do.

Scott Waide is the Lae bureau chief of EMTV News and began his career with EMTV in 1997 as a news and sports reporter and anchor. He and has been a media professional for more than 19 years. This article is from his personal blog My Land, My Country.

• More PNG articles

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz