A large 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila , shortly after 3pm NZT today.

The US Geological Survey says the quake was recorded at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles).

Locals have been sharing footage of serious damage to infrastructure in Port Vila.

According to one post on Vanuatu Dialogue Live Facebook group, the building which is occupied by diplomatic embassies has suffered significant damage.

There are also reports of people trapped under buildings that have collapsed from the shake.

Buildings collapsed in Port Vila, Vanuatu after strong 7.4 earthquake.
Rescuers trying to reach trapped people. #earthquake #Vanuatu #terremoto #sismo pic.twitter.com/UCbRiW6bLb

— Disasters Daily (@DisastersAndI) December 17, 2024

Tsunami waves
The US Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawai’i said tsunami waves had been observed and were forecast for some coasts.

It expected tsunami waves reaching one meter to be possible for some coasts of Vanuatu.

The tsunami was expected to reach the Anatom Island and Esperitu Santo in Vanuatu.

Fiji, Kermadic Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna faced a forecast for tsunami waves less than 30 cm high.

It said the coastal regions of Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI should refer to Pacific Tsunami Warning Center messages.

Massive earthquake in Port Vila just now.

— Dan McGarry (@VanuatuDan) December 17, 2024

Massive landslides near our international shipping terminal. A lot of digging out ahead. This is going to impact our ability to respond. pic.twitter.com/dpgyK8tcpf

— Dan McGarry (@VanuatuDan) December 17, 2024

Video by Dan McGarry.

One News reports that the NZ High Commission building “sustained significant damage”.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been in contact with the country’s High Commissioner Nicci Simmonds in Port Vila.

“Our High Commission building, which is co-located with the United States, the French and the United Kingdom, has sustained significant damage.

Footage posted to X shows damage to the High Commission building in Port Villa.

7.4 Earthquake damage in Vanuatu.
December 17, 2024 #earthquake #sismo #terremoto pic.twitter.com/8n6z0QEaQe

— Disasters Daily (@DisastersAndI) December 17, 2024

“We are in the process of contacting our staff to check they are safe.”

Forty five New Zealanders were registered on SafeTravel as being in Vanuatu. The ministry said it expected there would be more who were not registered.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ with additional information from Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry’s news feed.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A large 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila , shortly after 3pm NZT today.

The US Geological Survey says the quake was recorded at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles).

Locals have been sharing footage of damage to infrastructure in Port Vila.

According to one post on Vanuatu Dialogue Live Facebook group, the building which is occupied by diplomatic embassies has suffered significant damage.

There are also reports of people trapped under buildings that have collapsed from the shake.

Buildings collapsed in Port Vila, Vanuatu after strong 7.4 earthquake.
Rescuers trying to reach trapped people. #earthquake #Vanuatu #terremoto #sismo pic.twitter.com/UCbRiW6bLb

— Disasters Daily (@DisastersAndI) December 17, 2024

Tsunami waves
The US Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawai’i said tsunami waves had been observed and were forecast for some coasts.

It expected tsunami waves reaching one meter to be possible for some coasts of Vanuatu.

The tsunami was expected to reach the Anatom Island and Esperitu Santo in Vanuatu.

Fiji, Kermadic Islands, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna faced a forecast for tsunami waves less than 30 cm high.

It said the coastal regions of Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI should refer to Pacific Tsunami Warning Center messages.

Massive earthquake in Port Vila just now.

— Dan McGarry (@VanuatuDan) December 17, 2024

Massive landslides near our international shipping terminal. A lot of digging out ahead. This is going to impact our ability to respond. pic.twitter.com/dpgyK8tcpf

— Dan McGarry (@VanuatuDan) December 17, 2024

Video by Dan McGarry.

One News reports that the NZ High Commission building “sustained significant damage”.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had been in contact with the country’s High Commissioner Nicci Simmonds in Port Vila.

“Our High Commission building, which is co-located with the United States, the French and the United Kingdom, has sustained significant damage.

Footage posted to X shows damage to the High Commission building in Port Villa.

7.4 Earthquake damage in Vanuatu.
December 17, 2024 #earthquake #sismo #terremoto pic.twitter.com/8n6z0QEaQe

— Disasters Daily (@DisastersAndI) December 17, 2024

“We are in the process of contacting our staff to check they are safe.”

Forty five New Zealanders were registered on SafeTravel as being in Vanuatu. The ministry said it expected there would be more who were not registered.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ with additional information from Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry’s news feed.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Aotearoa, the longest running women’s peace group in New Zealand, has called on the Japanese government to change its plan to release treated nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean.

The protest comes as Pacific leaders remain undecided over the controversial — and widely condemned — Japanese move as reports suggest the start of the wastewater release could begin in the next few days.

“Releasing more radioactive materials is a wilful act of harm that will spread further radioactive contamination into the global environment,”said WILPF in its protest letter sent to Japanese Ambassador Ito Koichi last weekend.

“The treated water contains tritium, which cannot be removed. Tritium will be dumped into the ocean for several decades.

“There has been no assessment of future biological impacts. Nor has there been a review of less expensive and safer alternatives.”

An RNZ Pacific report said today that the past, present and future Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) chairs — known as “the Troika” — had not decided if they were for or against the imminent discharge.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) meeting in Port Vila, Vanuatu, this week has been urged to call on Japan to drop plans for the wastewater release.

Accident reminder
WILPF reminded the Japanese government in its protest letter that after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami which caused the accident at the power station, the radioactive contaminated water was treated by a multi-nuclide removal system (ALPS) and stored in more than 1000 tanks on the power plant site.

It also reminded Tokyo of its pledge about Fukushima at the time.

The Japanese government and the operating company, TEPCO, stated that this water would not be disposed of in any way without the understanding of the concerned parties and would be stored on land.

The London Convention, which Japan ratified in 1980, strictly regulates the dumping of radioactive waste into the ocean.

“Therefore,” said the protest letter, “the release of treated water is a violation of international law.

“Such an action would also damage the trust between Japan and its neighbours and the Pacific Islands.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is warning coastal areas  are expected to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in the Pacific.

A tsunami threat was issued for Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

The warnings were issued just after 3pm by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre. The earthquake was nearly 38 km deep.

In its warning, NEMA said: “Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore.

“People … should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.”

The first tsunami activity causing these strong currents and surges may reach New Zealand in the areas North Cape at approximately 5pm, NEMA said.

“This may be later and the first tsunami activity may not be the most significant. Strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges will continue for several hours and the threat must be regarded as real until this advisory is cancelled.”

Coastal inundation was not expected, NEMA said.

The areas under threat:

• The West Coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Whanganui including the West Coast of Auckland, Manukau Harbour and New Plymouth
• The East Coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Tolaga Bay including Whangārei, Great Barrier Island, the East Coast of Auckland, Waiheke Island, Waitematā Harbour, Tauranga, Whakatane and Opotiki
• The West Coast of the South Island from Farewell spit to Milford Sound including Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika

Advice for people in areas under threat:

• Stay off beaches and shore areas
• People on boats, liveboards and at marinas should leave their boats/vessels and move onto shore. Do not return to boats unless instructed by officials
• Move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries
• Do not go to the coast to watch the unusual wave activity as there may be dangerous and unpredictable surges
• There is no need to evacuate other areas unless directly advised by local civil defence authorities
• Listen to local civil defence authorities and follow any instructions and share this information with family, neighbours and friends

RNZ Pacific senior reporter Walter Zweifel said the warning broadcast for New Caledonia on RRB, a commercial radio station, applied to all islands, with people being asked to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground.

Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department issued the following statement: “An earthquake of this size has the potential to cause destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours.

“The National Disaster Management Office advises people over all Vanuatu group to take appropriate action and precautionary measures upon receiving this advisory. This includes immediate evacuation from coastal areas to higher grounds.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

As Tonga’s recovery from the recent volcanic eruption and tsunami ramps up there is growing concern for the psychological and emotional wellbeing of survivors.

According to the government, 84 percent of the population has been impacted, with assessments of the widespread destruction still being conducted.

Two Tongans and a British national were killed during the disaster.

RNZ Pacific’s Tonga correspondent Kalafi Moala said that while the recovery was building up steam a lot of people were still visibly shaken.

“For example near here, where there were homes in the waterfront that were destroyed, when you go over to inspect the place you see people that are just staring,” he said.

“With looks in their faces not only of disappointment, but it is a look of hurt,” he added.

French aid
A French Navy ship is to take relief supplies to Tonga following the volcanic eruption and tsunami.

The Red Cross in Noumea has readied 21 pallets which the patrol boat La Glorieuse will deliver to Nuku’alofa.

The 10 tonnes of goods include tents for about 100 families, hygiene kits, solar-powered lights as well as masks.

A coordinator, Vincent Lepley, has told the local broadcaster that as Tonga was covid-19 free, no staff would be sent.

He said the delivery would be made within the French partnership with New Zealand and Australia as well as Tonga’s Red Cross.

Help from Fiji on the way

The first contingent of 51 Fiji soldiers are still awaiting approval from the Tongan government to assist New Zealand and Australia in their relief efforts in the kingdom.

The Fijians arrived in Brisbane last Saturday to join Australia’s Defence Force deployment to Tonga.

Fiji army commander Major-General Ro Jone Kalouniwai said the group consisted of engineers, medics and other specialists.

He said they would carry out rehabilitation and further assessments in Tonga.

The Fiji military said the soldiers had completed covid-19 tests and isolation requirements before heading to Australia.

“Looking at the damage and the things that happened in Tonga so far, we are going engineer heavy so we taking a lot of plant operators, we are looking at construction workers, civil engineers and also medical staff. The rest are all part of the manpower that can assist these specialists’ engineers in the work they are doing,” he said.

Volunteers needed
Twelve shipping containers bound for Tonga have been fully packed with food and water by Aotearoa Tonga Relief Committee volunteers.

Thirteen additional containers are being sent to Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium today.

The drop off points for the public remain closed as the hundreds of drums already onsite need loading.

Committee co-chair Jenny Salesa said volunteers worked until 10pm last night.

But she said more people power was needed for the final push today, with packers expected to work until midnight.

All volunteers must be fully vaccinated.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A global aid effort is underway for Tonga with vessels en route to the Pacific kingdom from Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan and the US as well as New Zealand.

NZ Defence Force Maritime Component Commander Commodore Garin Golding told RNZ Pacific nearby Fiji was also assisting in the relief efforts.

“Fiji is assisting Tonga, they are providing land forces which are going to be embarked on the Adelaide,” he said.

Three New Zealand Navy vessels have departed already and a second C-130 Hercules dropped aid off yesterday following the devastating undersea eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and tsunami on January 15.

The HMNZS Canterbury set sail for Tonga on Friday night, the latest to assist with the aid effort.

The ship has two NH90 helicopters, personnel and supplies onboard.

“On board the HMNZS Canterbury is water, milk powder and tarpaulins, but due to her size they have also embarked vehicles and forklifts which are needed to help distribute aid around the airport and port,” Commodore Golding said.

Engineer task force embarked
“We have also embarked an engineer task force and they can help purify water.”

The HMNZS Wellington and Aotearoa are already in Tonga.

Commodore Golding said the team onboard the Aotearoa had successfully offloaded five containers of stores and spent Saturday offloading bulk water supplies to be distributed across the island.

“They will be doing that today right through to early next week,” Golding said.

“The HMNZS Wellington sailed overnight [Friday], they received another survey task to the island ‘Eua which is the south east of Tongatapu, they will spend the whole day using their hydrographic and diving personnel just to verify that it is safe for shipping to go in and out.”

Wellington was set to return to Nuku’alofa to continue the survey task, with Aotearoa to stay alongside to continue to offload water supplies.

Australian efforts
The Royal Australian Navy is supporting the effort too, while HMNZS Adelaide is on its way.

“My understanding is, in addition to the three ships we will have, [the] Adelaide from Australia, the [Royal Navy ship HMS] Spey from the UK, and the US already has the Sampson [there] and a coast guard vessel is on its way down. I understand a Japanese vessel is on route. I have no information with respects to China,” Commodore Golding said.

The Tongan government has requested covid-19 measures be observed during the effort and Golding said that was a major focus of the team.

“We will be receiving tasks from the Tongan government and we will be responsive to whatever these tasks are.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Tagata Pasifika on the latest aid efforts for Tonga. Video: Tagata Pasifika

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The second day of a drive to receive emergency supplies in Aotearoa New Zealand to be sent to Tonga has started in Auckland this morning.

Hundreds queued for hours at Mount Smart Stadium in Penrose yesterday to deliver emergency goods that will be sent to their families in Tonga.

Almost six shipping containers were filled yesterday and organisers say at one point queues of more than 400 cars stretched three kilometres.

Aotearoa Tonga relief committee secretary Pakilau Manase Lua said it had been heartening to see the support and today was expected to see an even bigger turn out.

He said only vaccinated people can enter the stadium but donations from unvaccinated people can be dropped off at the stadium gates from 9am to 8pm.

Mepa Vuni said it was a long wait yesterday and many people had taken the day off work to make their deliveries for Tonga to the stadium.

“I haven’t spoken to my Mum since the eruption on Saturday. We are all doing this for the time being. We have been queing here for more than two hours. People have been queuing since 7 o’clock,” she said last evening.

Pasifika doctors ready
The Pasifika Medical Association is ready to mobilise the necessary support for Tonga, following the devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami.

PMA’s Medical Assistance Team is ready to send an experienced and specialised team of doctors, nurses and technical support workers.

Watch today’s report on Tagata Pasifika. Video: Tagata Pasifika

The medical team has previously been deployed to Tonga to help with the measles outbreak and Cyclone Gita.

PMA chief executive Debbie Sorensen said they are prepared and are on standby.

She said the volcanic ash is a major concern for people with asthma or respiratory conditions, who will require extra health assistance.

Concerns about covid threat
Tonga’s Minister of Trade and Economic Development is reassuring the public there is minimal threat of covid-19 being imported into the kingdom via the international emergency response to last week’s volcanic eruption and tsunami.

Emergency assistance from the international community is ramping up with navy vessels and flights arriving into the kingdom from Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

Tonga has had a strict border closure in place since the start of the pandemic and has so far had no community transmission of covid.

Ulu’alo Po’uhila, editor and publisher of the Tongan newspaper Kakalu O Tonga, is in New Zealand and said he managed to speak with minister Viliame Latu and put to him concerns raised by the public about covid-19 protocols around the international relief effort.

“I was asking because there is a concern throug these [emergency] aid and these people going to Tonga it might take the virus, covid virus, to Tonga.

“And I was told that they, all they do is just, it is a contact-less delivery,” he said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

King Tupou VI has offered sympathy and prayers to all those who lost relatives in last weekend’s Tongan volcano eruption and tsunami disaster or are still waiting for news about their families.

He said the whole of Tonga was devastated by the tsunami and it wiped out some of the islands, homes, plantations and possessions.

His Majesty’s first speech to address the nation following last week’s volcanic eruption has been delivered in Tongan in a video clip which was shared on Facebook last night as New Zealand and international aid programmes have stepped up.

The tsunami on Saturday killed three people and injured many. Waves of up to 15 metres flattened houses and caused extensive damage to Tongatapu’s western district.

It wiped out the islands of Mango, Fonoifua and ‘Atatā.

The king mentioned some biblical texts in his attempt to encourage his people to stand together to rebuild the nation.

“Let’s start with Jehovah as Jehovah is our refuge”, the king said referring to Psalm 91 of the Bible.

Facing new challenges
He said he could not say whether the natural disaster’s damage itself was less than the damage it caused to the environment and the evacuation of the people “as there was supreme over all in nature”.

“But it is astonishing, and I am grateful that the death toll was at a minimum,” the king said.

“While we feel and sympathise with immediate families and relatives of the deceased, we have been facing new challenges,” the king said.

He said the Armed Forces’ boats which transported people from the islands were affected by the pumice stones from the volcanic eruptions.

He said the people of ‘Eua valued their wharf more than their airport. And that was because that was what they mostly used for transportation and trade.

Standing together
“In times of trouble, people stand together so they could withstand the consequences,” the king said.

“It is not who have much money or assistance from overseas but the will of the people

“It is the determination to live on top of believing in God and show love, helping each other, have patience and be self-possessed”.

“In the aftermath of the disaster, we have to all stand up and work,” he said.

“It is our nation and the place where we grew up and it is only you and me who would treasure that”.

The king congratulated people from other countries and various partnerships, churches and businesses for helping Tonga.

Aid is coming from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States. New Zealand’s Defence Force continues to coordinate with its partners.

New Zealand aid stepped up
HMNZS Aotearoa berthed today at Nuku’alofa port following successful wharf and harbour inspections conducted by Navy divers and hydrographers on board HMNZS Wellington.

Hydrographers were deployed to survey approaches to Nuku’alofa after the Wellington’s arrival, with Navy divers also conducting checks on the integrity of wharf infrastructure.

Once Aotearoa arrived, Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) stores, including bulk water supplies, were being offloaded as a priority and will undergo appropriate covid-19 sanitation by Tongan authorities.

Aotearoa is also able to provide continuous water supply while it is berthed.

HMNZS Canterbury was due to depart Devonport Naval Base tonight and is expected to arrive in Tonga early next week.

Supplies on board Canterbury include water, tarpaulins and milk powder. Vehicles and several containers of construction equipment are also on board.

Another C130 Hercules flight is also set to depart Auckland on Saturday with more stores on board.

Asia Pacific Report collaborates with Kaniva News.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Specialist New Zealand Defence Force staff will be checking Tonga’s shipping lanes are passable and the wharf is safe so desperately needed humanitarian supplies can get through.

Three deaths have been confirmed after Saturday’s massive volcanic eruption. There are reports of significant injuries, but no details yet.

UN officials said 84,000 people – more than 80 percent of Tonga’s population — had been impacted by tsunami and the ashfall that followed the eruption.

New Zealand Defence Force Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour said there were fears for food security, with reports ash was killing crops.

Ash and sea water have also contaminated water supplies.

Offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington, which is carrying a helicopter, technical gear, and teams, has arrived in Tongan waters.

“They commenced clearing the outer part of the Nuku’alofa harbour and they’ll be working in towards the wharf area and terminal area,” Admiral Gilmour told RNZ Morning Report.

Scoping shipping channels
It will scope the shipping channels and wharves at the main port to see if they safe enough to use to drop off supplies, in time for HMNZS Aotearoa due today, which is carrying a range of stores including water, long life non-perishable foods, hygiene kits and shelter.

“Water is among the highest priorities for Tonga, and the Aotearoa can carry 250,000 litres, and produce 70,000 litres per day through a desalination plant,” Admiral Gilmour said.

“I feel that the most value that she’s going to provide today is bring able to discharge fresh water into water tanks for distribution around Tongatapu.”

Admiral Gilmour said staff did not need to set foot on Tonga at all, in an effort to avoid spreading covid-19 to the currently coronavirus-free country.

Sanitised containers will be moved by crane from the ship onto the dock or hauled by personnel in full PPE.

They will then withdraw and Tongans will pick up the goods.

Hundreds of people, including the Tongan Armed Forces, cleared ash off the international runway allowing a Defence Force Hercules to land yesterday afternoon.

Water containers, shelters
It carried the most urgently needed supplies including water containers, temporary shelters, generators, and communications equipment.

It was expected to be on the ground for about 90 minutes before returning to New Zealand.

The Hercules will be decontaminated today with a plan to head out again tomorrow, Gilmour said.

Admiral Gilmour said ash that was moved off the runway was sitting nearby and in a fine powder form. Some of this was picked up in the wind.

A Royal Australian Air Force C-17 also landed yesterday.

A third New Zealand Defence Force vessel, HMNZS Canterbury, is being prepared to be deployed this evening or on Saturday to arrive on Tuesday.

It is carrying two helicopters which can be used to distribute supplies and survey Tonga’s outer islands.

Self-sufficient force
The Defence Force intends to be self-sufficient to not put pressure on Tonga’s food, water and fuel supply.

It has enough stores to stay at sea for at least 30 days without any external assistance. If it stays that long plans will be made to resupply.

“We’re very mindful of the sensitivities about covid and its transmission. I’m 100 percent confident that none of our deployed forces have covid, they’ve all been PCR tested, at least double jabbed, some, if not many triple jabbed,” Admiral Gilmour said.

He said the NZDF respected Tonga’s decision whether or not to allow troops on the ground.

“If Tonga decides that they would like boots on the ground and our operators will be operating ashore, then will will do that and obviously still maintain a contactless approach delivering any assistance that is required.”

Australia’s high commissioner to Tonga Rachael Moore has described the loss of property as “catastrophic”.

“Along the western beaches there is a moonscape where once beautiful resorts and many, many homes stood,” Moore said.

Tonga has only just begun to re-establish global contact after five days cut off from the rest of the world.

Video scenes from Dr Viliami Uasike Latu, #Tonga Minister of Trade and Economic Development posted on FB. Just a snippet below. This is Hihifo side (Western side) of Tongatapu including Kanokupolu one of the badly hit villages. #Tonga #TongaVolcano #tongatsunami pic.twitter.com/d1zyXBwPo4

— Josephine Latu-Sanft (@JoLatuSanft) January 20, 2022

Mobile phone company Digicel has confirmed re-establishing communications between Tonga and the rest of the world, but lines have been clogged with heavy traffic, leaving many still unable to get through to loved ones.

Work to improve the satellite capacity and improve communications at the New Zealand High Commission in Nuku’alofa was being done Thursday evening.

Food and water woes
MP for Panmure-Ōtāhuhu and the co-chairperson of the Aotearoa-Tonga Relief Committee Jenny Salesa said Tongans in New Zealand were hearing from their families back home for food and bottled water.

“We’re also told by some of our relatives that the ash from the volcano is everywhere. A lot of the ash has now hardened like cement on some of the surfaces and cleaning up is a challenging task,” she said.

“Some of the worry is that it would also affect the crops and the traditional food sources that a lot of our Tongan people back home rely on.”

The relief committee is asking families from the most effected islands to head to the appeal at Mt Smart Stadium today. People from the rest of Tonga are asked to come from Sunday.

Each family being allocated a 44-gallon drum to send supplies to Tonga and eight containers have been given to the relief committee.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A World Health Organisation representative in Tonga says the international airport has been cleared of volcanic ash which will allow humanitarian aid flights to arrive.

Hundreds of volunteers, workers and Tongan Defence Force personnel have been clearing the debris from the runway by hand.

WHO liaison officer in Tonga Dr Yutaro Setoya, who is in the capital Nuku’alofa on the main island Tongatapu, said there had been a thick layer of ash on the runway preventing planes from landing.

“The runway, I understand, was cleared to be able to be used from outside [the country]. I understand humanitarian flights are coming in,” Dr Setoya told RNZ by satellite phone.

A New Zealand Defence Force C-130 Hercules is on standby and will be able to to take off once the all clear has been given, bringing supplies of water, hygiene kits and other goods.

Two Australian Air Force Hercules are also ready to depart.

One of Tonga’s main communications providers, Digicel, said it had restored international calls to Tonga via satellite.

Undersea communications cable delay
But until the undersea communications cable is restored its network services will not be fully operational, it said.

It is expected to take at least a month to complete repairs on the cable that carries the bulk of internet and phone communications to Tonga.

Digicel Tonga is giving out free sim cards from Thursday morning, with the company saying it knows how desperate family and friends overseas are to connect with relatives.

Three people are confirmed to have died after Saturday’s massive volcanic eruption and tsunami.

Houses on the island of Mango in the Ha’apai group were destroyed, and the majority of structures on Atatā on Tongatapu, about 6km north Nuku’alofa, were all but wiped out by the tsunami.

There has been extensive damage to Fonoifua and Nomuka Islands. Evacuations of residents are underway.

Western parts of the main island of Tongatapu are also badly hit, with dozens of houses destroyed.

New Zealand Defence Force ships HMNZS Wellington and HMNZS Aotearoa are due to arrive in Tonga on Friday, carrying water and other immediate supplies, as well as engineers and helicopters.

‘Contactless’ aid
Their first task is to offload desperately needed water, but distributing supplies will be complicated by the need to maintain covid-19 protocols.

Tonga is free of the virus, and Tongan and New Zealand officials are still working out how foreign assistance can be done in a contactless way.

A second New Zealand Defence Force P3 Orion surveillance flight was carried out on Wednesday and also included Fiji’s southern Lau Islands, at the request of the government of Fiji.

The Tongan government has begun a huge cleanup operation in the capital.

Dr Setoya said Tonga needed access to emergency funding and immediate humanitarian supplies from overseas, but he believed most of the response to the devastating volcanic eruption could be handled domestically.

He said people affected by the volcanic eruption were resilient and strong and were helping others clean up.

“Tongan people are strong and very quick to react,” he said.

“People are cleaning ashes from the ground and the roof … hand in hand, cleaning the houses together. So I think there’s a good energy in Tonga.”

He said Tonga needed rain to wash away the ash.

“Because ash is everywhere and has to be washed away before we get clean water [from roofs] … many people depend on rain water in Tonga.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New images appear to show the majority of structures on the Tongan island of Atatā have been wiped out after a volcanic eruption and tsunami last weekend.

The Tongan government has so far confirmed three deaths from Saturday’s eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, and all houses on the island of Mango were also wiped out.

The New Zealand Defence Force has described the damage to the island of Atatā as “catastrophic” in its surveillance photo, which was posted online by a resort based there.

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) also released an image of Atatā island on January 18, with an assessment that 72 structures had been damaged and the entire island covered in ash.

However, it noted it was a preliminary analysis and had not yet been validated on the ground.

The Royal Sunset Island resort posted on Facebook that all residents had now been evacuated to the mainland.

The resort was fully submerged by the tsunami and it was not expected there would be much left.

Other satellite imagery circulating online also appeared to show major damage on the island.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand government today announced two naval ships with supplies had been approved for arrival in Tonga.

The ships were sent before an official request for help from the Tongan government, but the statement from Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta’s office this afternoon confirmed the vessels — expected to arrive by Friday, depending on weather — had been approved.

So hard to tell what’s going on here at the Vakaloa Beach Resort… maybe this is just completely covered in ash. You can see the outline of the wall on the left, and a line along the sand where the building is/was… could conceivably be completely covered in ash. pic.twitter.com/F3ZRwAkmTr

— AI6YR (@ai6yrham) January 17, 2022

The eruption was likely the world’s largest in the past three decades, and support and aid efforts have been stymied by communications outages after the blast.

US company SubCom expected repairs to the undersea cable, which carries most of Tonga’s communications, would take at least four weeks.

A mobile network was expected to be established using the University of South Pacific’s satellite dish today, though the connection would likely be limited and patchy.

Volcanic activity and tsunami risk continues to be monitored.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Tongan communities in New Zealand feel relieved to hear official information from the government of Tonga for the first time since Saturday’s eruption and resulting tsunami.

The Office of Tonga’s Prime Minister was able to send initial detail of search and rescue efforts and early reports of damage to the Australia High Commission in Tonga, which was then shared with the world.

Tongan-born New Zealand MP Jenny Salesa said the first information about what was happening on the ground in Tonga was a relief but also upsetting.

“It is really heartbreaking. Just reading the first official statement as well as seeing the graphic images. Tonga hasn’t yet fully recovered from some of the cyclones. On top of a pandemic, there is now this twin force of natural disaster,” Salesa said.

She had been in touch with many Tongans in Aotearoa since the latest news arrived.

“There is actually a sense of relief that there doesn’t seem to be many more deaths reported. We know as of now, three fatalities have been reported to date. We of course still don’t know the extent of the damages on the ground.

Communication hope soon
“There is some hope though that communication will be up and running pretty soon.”

Salesa said it would take years for the nation to recover.

Evacuation of people on the islands of Mango and Fonoifua to Nomuka — as well as people being evacuated from the west coast of Tongatapu and the island of Atata to Tongatapu — has been underway since Sunday with confirmation there were no houses remaining on Mango and only two houses standing on Fonoifua.

The World Health Organisation confirmed the main hospital in Tongatapu was functioning.

The WHO representative in Tonga has been providing regular updates from Nuku’alofa via satellite phone to his counterpart Sean Casey in Fiji.

“The hospital in Tongatapu is functioning and there has not been an increase in presentations. The Tonga emergency medical assistance team went out on the ship with the navy to the Ha’apai group and are able to provide immediate assistance if required there,” Casey said.

The WHO was lending its only satellite phone to Tongan government officials to use as well, he said.

Church support
The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints in Tonga is providing shelter to many residents left homeless by Saturday’s tsunami.

LDS Church officials in New Zealand have maintained contact with their counterparts in Tonga via satellite phone.

Pacific area leader and member support manager Hatu Tiakia said the church was actively assisting people on the ground.

“On the first night, over a thousand people used our church school in liahona, but that’s just liahona. We have probably in excess of a hundred buildings or more that’s being used now by the community for shelter,” Tiakia said.

“They go there during the night to sleep because we have water in general for those facilities, and they return to their home to provide cleanup for their communities during the day.”

Tiakia also told RNZ Pacific that aid packages were being organised to be delivered to Tonga.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Tongan government has confirmed that all houses on the island of Mango were wiped out in the tsunami that followed Saturday’s volcanic eruption.

It confirmed that three people are now known to have died: a 65-year-old woman in Mango and a 49-year-old man in Nomuka, both in the outlying Ha’apai island group; as well as British national Angela Glover in Tongatapu.

The Tongan navy had deployed with health teams and water, food and tents to the Ha’apai islands.

One aerial image taken by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) showed Mango and described the damage there as “catastrophic”.

No houses, but just a few temporary tarpaulin shelters could be seen.

The Tongan government said Mango, Atata, and Fonoifua islands were being evacuated, and that water supplies in Tonga were seriously affected. It said all houses were destroyed on Mango Island, only two houses remained on Fonoifua and extensive damage occurred on Nomuka Island.

The government also said there were multiple injuries.

First official Tongan statement
It is the first official statement the kingdom has made about the disaster to international media.

The government said parts of the western side of Tongatapu, including Kanokupolu, were being evacuated after dozens of houses were damaged, and that in the central district many houses were damaged in Kolomotu’a and on the island of ‘Eua.

A diplomat, Tonga’s deputy head of mission in Australia, Curtis Tu’ihalangingie, earlier described the images taken by the NZDF reconnaissance flight as “alarming”, saying they showed numerous buildings missing on Atata island as well.

“People panic, people run and get injuries,” Tu’ihalangingie told Reuters. “Possibly there will be more deaths and we just pray that is not the case.”

With communications in the South Pacific island nation cut, the true extent of casualties is still not clear.

Glover, 50, was the first known death in the tsunami, swept away as she tried to rescue the dogs she cared for at a shelter.

Australia’s Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja said conditions on other outer islands were “very tough, we understand, with many houses being destroyed in the tsunami”.

UN report of distress signal
The United Nations had earlier reported a distress signal was detected in Ha’apai, where Mango is located.

The Tongan navy reported the area was hit by waves estimated to be 5m-10m high, said the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Atata and Mango are between 50km and 70km from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, which sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean and was heard some 2300km away in New Zealand when it erupted on Saturday.

Atata has a population of about 100 people and Mango about 50 people.

“It is very alarming to see the wave possibly went through Atata from one end to the other,” Tu’ihalangingie said.

Workers on airport runway
The NZDF images were posted unofficially on a Facebook site and confirmed by Tu’ihalangingie.

Taken from a P-3K2 Orion plane, they also showed workers on the runway clearing volcanic ash at Fua’amotu International Airport, the country’s main airfield.

One caption described the runway as “unserviceable” because of the layer of ash on it, meaning aircraft cannot land there.

It said the clearance operation was being done with shovels and wheelbarrows, and that “no heavy excavation machinery was observed”.

The Tongan government said wharves were also damaged in the eruption.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Two New Zealand naval ships are being sent to Tonga to provide support, carrying fresh water, emergency provisions, and diving teams.

It comes as ashfall on the Nuku’alofa airport runway means one of the aircraft readied yesterday — a C-130 Hercules, to supply aid — would be unable to land.

The official death toll from Saturday’s eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and tsunami is two, but getting accurate information from the ground has been difficult.

In a statement this afternoon, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said New Zealand was ready to assist.

The HMNZS Wellington would transport survey equipment and a helicopter, while HMNZS Aotearoa would transport 250,000 litres of water and is able to produce an extra 70,000 litres per day through salinisation, they said.

The journey is expected to take three days.

Mahuta said authorities had struggled with communications on the ground so decided to send aid before an official request.

“The delays mean we have taken the decision for both HMNZS Wellington and HMNZS Aotearoa to sail so they can respond quickly if called upon by the Tongan Government,” she said.

Henare said the ships would return to New Zealand if not required.

He said the survey and diving teams would be able to assess wharf infrastructure, and changes to the seabed in shipping channels and ports, to assure future delivery of aid and support from the sea.

The Hercules flight remains on standby with humanitarian aid and disaster relief stores including collapsible water containers, generators and hygiene kits.

Tonga is free of covid-19 and operates strict border controls, so all support is being offered in a contactless way.

The ministers’ statement said a further NZ$500,000 in humanitarian assistance had been allocated, bringing the total to $1 million.

Serious damage has been reported from the west coast of Tongatapu and a state of emergency has been declared.

Acting High Commissioner for New Zealand in Tonga Peter Lund told Tagata Pasifika he could see rubble, large rocks and damaged buildings, with serious damage along the west coast of Tongatapu.

“There is a huge clean-up operation underway, the town has been blanketed in a thick blanket of volcanic dust, but look they’re making progress… roads are being cleared,” he said.

A Briton among fatalities
UN Coordonator in the Pacific Jonathan Veitch said one of the fatalities was British national Angela Glover, who was reported by her family to have been killed by the tsunami.

Glover is thought to have died trying to rescue her dogs at the animal charity she ran.

Veitch told RNZ full information from some islands — such as the Ha’apai group — was not available.

“We know that the Tonga Navy has gone there and we expect to hear back soon.”

The communication situation was “absolutely terrible”.

NEWS? The NZ Government has released an update on New Zealand’s support to #Tonga ➡️https://t.co/01JrI41gNx#Force4NZ #NZAirForce pic.twitter.com/TeYAvdRJMR

— NZ Defence Force (@NZDefenceForce) January 18, 2022

“I have worked in a lot of emergencies but this is one of the hardest in terms of communicating and trying to get information from there. With the severing of the cable that comes from Fiji they’re just cut off completely,” he said.

“We’re relying 100 percent on satellite phones.

‘Bit of a struggle’
“We’ve been discussing with New Zealand and Australia and UN colleagues … and we hope to have this [cable] back up and running relatively soon, but it’s been a bit of a struggle.”

It had been “a lot more difficult” than regular operations, Veitch said.

One of the biggest concerns in the crisis was clean water, he said.

“I think one of the first things that can be done is if those aircraft or those ships that both New Zealand and Australia have offered can provide bottled drinking water. That’s a very small, short-term solution.

“We need to ensure that the desalination plants are functioning well and properly … and we need to send a lot of testing kits and other material over there so people can treat their own water, because as you know, the vast majority of the population in Tonga is reliant on rainwater.

“And with the ash as it currently is, it has been a bit acidic, so we’re not sure of the quality of the water right now.”

Access in ‘covid-free nation’
Another issue was access.

“Tonga is one of the few lucky countries in the world that hasn’t had covid … so we’ll have to operate rather remotely. So we’ll be supporting the government to do the implementation and then working very much through local organisations.”

For those in Tonga who were cut off, Veitch said the main message was “everybody is working day and night on this. We are putting our supplies together. We are ready to move.

“We have teams on the ground. We are coming up with cash and other supply solutions … so help is on its way”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ. It corrects an earlier report on the death toll headlined “Tonga volcano tsunami death toll rises to three, reports UN”. The death toll stood at 2 as confirmed by MFAT.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Lack of backup satellite and cable links in the wake of Tonga’s volcanic eruption at the weekend reignites debate over the government’s plans to secure communications.

Communication with Tonga remains intermittent after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and tsunami severed the kingdom’s undersea cable connection with the rest of the world.

The crisis has renewed debate over previous government decisions which have been the subject of controversy and court cases.

It could be weeks before services are fully restored.

The 827km cable between Tonga and Fiji was cut when the volcano exploded. The break is located 37km from the capital, Nuku’alofa.

A cable connecting Tongatapu to other islands in the archipelago has been severed about 47km from Nuku’alofa.

A submarine cable repair ship is expected to sail from Papua New Guinea in the next few days.

Some communication with Tonga is possible via satellite. It is understood some people have been able to use the University of the South Pacific’s satellite connection to contact New Zealand from Ha’apai.

A New Zealand resident in Mangawhai, north of Auckland, has been in contact with his colleagues in Tonga via satellite text phone, 1News reported today.

However, Tonga Cable Ltd chair Samiuela Fonua said the lingering ash cloud was continuing to make even satellite phone calls abroad difficult.

Fonau said Tonga had been talking with New Zealand about establishing a second international fibreoptic cable, but any long-term solution was difficult.

The Kacific controversy
The government of the late prime minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva believed the best option was for Tonga to spend its money in building a satellite back up service.

The Pohiva government had made a 15-year deal with Kacific to establish a satellite backup link, but this was cancelled by the Tu’ionetoa government.

As Kaniva News reported in June last year, Kacific Broadband Satellites International Ltd provided emergency broadband services to Tonga when the undersea cable was severed by a ship’s anchor in 2019.

The Tongan government and its subsidiary Tonga Satellite Ltd later signed an agreement with Kacific for the supply of satellite broadband for a fee of US$5.76 million, which was due on June 15, 2019.

The fee was not paid and the company took Tonga to court in Singapore to enforce payment of the debt. The government then tried to take TSL off the kingdom’s company registry. This was overturned by the Tongan Supreme Court.

“We came to Tonga’s aid during its hour of need,” company CEO Christian Patouraux said at the time.

“It is deeply disappointing that Kacific has to undertake legal proceedings.

“The Tongan Government has benefited from millions of dollars of payments from international aid and infrastructure agencies to fund e-government initiatives and strengthen digital access over the last 10 years.”

The Hawaiki deal
The current Prime Minister, Siaosi Sovaleni was at the centre of a controversial deal with internet provider Hawaiki when he was Minister of Environment and Communications.

Sovaleni signed a TOP$50 million (NZ$32.5 million) contract.

Tonga paid TOP$6 million (NZ$4 million) so that the Hawaiki cable connecting New Zealand and Australia to Hawai’i and Los Angeles was connected to the Vava’u fibre cable in Tonga.

However, in 2019 Tonga Cable Ltd (TCL) director Paula Piveni Piukala and Minister of Trade and Economic Development Tu’i Uata were sent to Auckland to seek advice on the deal.

Uata said TCL had questioned whether the large sums being paid from taxpayers’ money were justified.

Piukala said at the time it “did not make sense” to pay such a large amount of money just in case the cable might be damaged in the future.

Tonga also had an agreement with French company Alcatel for the provision of a fibreoptic cable system connecting Nuku’alofa and Vava’u with a branch to Ha’apai.

The World Bank
The World Bank has funded $50 million for Tonga’s high-speed internet cable which was launched in 2013.

Tonga asked the bank to also fund a back up, or redundancy, cable but the bank said it was not financially viable.

Kalino Latu is editor of Kaniva Tonga. Asia Pacific Report collaborates with Kaniva News.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz