The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Tsunami threat recedes but volcanic ash cloud delays Tonga aid efforts
The tsunami threat around the Pacific from a huge undersea volcanic eruption has begun to recede but a massive ash cloud covering the tiny island nation of Tonga prevented surveillance flights from assessing the extent of the damage.
Satellite images showed the spectacular eruption that took place on Saturday evening, with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a mushroom above the blue Pacific waters. A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska.
In Tonga it sent tsunami waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground.
The eruption cut the internet to Tonga, leaving friends and family members around the world anxiously trying to get in touch to work out if there were any injuries and the extent of the damage. Even government websites and other official sources remained without updates yesterday afternoon.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there had not yet been any official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga, but cautioned that authorities had not yet made contact with some coastal areas and smaller islands.
“Communication with Tonga remains very limited, and I know that is causing a huge amount of anxiety for the Tongan community here,” Ms Ardern said.
She said there had been significant damage to boats and shops along the Tongan coastline.
The capital Nuku’alofa was covered in a thick film of volcanic dust, Ms Ardern said, contaminating water supplies and making fresh water a vital need.
Aid agencies said thick ash and smoke had prompted authorities to ask people to wear masks and drink bottled water.
Ms Ardern said New Zealand was unable to send a military surveillance flight over Tonga yesterday because the ash cloud was 63,000ft (19,000 metres) high but they hoped to send the flight today, followed by supply planes and navy ships.
One complicating factor to any international aid effort is that Tonga has so far managed to avoid any outbreaks of Covid-19.
Ms Ardern said New Zealand’s military staff were all fully vaccinated and willing to follow any protocols established by Tonga.
Dave Snider, the tsunami warning co-ordinator for the National Tsunami Warning Centre in Palmer, Alaska, said it was very unusual for a volcanic eruption to affect an entire ocean basin, and the spectacle was both “humbling and scary”.
The tsunami waves caused damage to boats as far away as New Zealand and Santa Cruz, California, but did not appear to cause any widespread damage.
Mr Snider anticipates the tsunami situation in the US and elsewhere to continue improving.
Tsunami advisories were earlier issued for Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and the US Pacific coast.
The US Geological Survey estimated the eruption caused the equivalent of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake.
Scientists said tsunamis generated by volcanoes rather than earthquakes are relatively rare.
The Tonga Meteorological Services said a tsunami warning was declared for all of the archipelago, and data from the Pacific tsunami centre said waves of 80 centimetres (2.7ft) were detected.
Rachel Afeakitaumoepeau, who chairs the New Zealand Tonga Business Council, said she hoped the relatively low level of the tsunami waves would have allowed most people to get to safety, although she worried about those living on islands closest to the volcano.