New Zealand stands ready to help Tonga in wake of devastating tsunami

Sunday, 16 January 2022

Satellite images captured the moment the undersea volcano erupted.

New Zealand is poised to send help to Tonga this morning, once officials have a clearer picture of the devastation from Saturday’s tsunami, which sent walls of water crashing through homes and ash raining down onto the streets.

But with a near-total communications blackout, New Zealand officials had been unable to make direct contact with the Tongan Government, following the violent eruptions from submarine volcano Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai.

On our shores, tsunami surges combined with tropical Cyclone Cody caused millions of dollars in damage at a Northland marina, while others reported hearing sonic booms as the shock waves rippled some 2000 kilometres across the sea.

The threat for beach and marine areas was believed to have passed by on Sunday evening, with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) lifting a warning for people to stay off beaches.

A New Zealand navy ship is ready to be deployed to Tonga if needed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

The damage at Tutukaka Marina in Northland is likely to run into the millions of dollars, with multiple boats sunk and about 50 berths out of action.

* Tonga volcano: Photos and video give first glimpse of tsunami's impact

* Tonga subsea communications cable 'may be broken after all', says Southern Cross

The Defence Force aircraft, P3 Orion, is on standby to help with surveillance efforts in Tonga.

* Tonga volcano: NZ Defence Force poised to help, but no direct contact with Tonga Government yet

An image shared on social media by the Consulate of the Kingdom of Tonga.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the New Zealand Government was ready to deploy aid to Tonga, but needed to establish what supplies were needed, and what the situation was like on the ground.

“I’ve been in touch with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison today and New Zealand and Australia stand ready to assist our Pacific neighbours,” Ardern said, in a press conference in Auckland on Sunday afternoon.

In Lifuka island in Ha'apai, rubble, trees and rocks are strewn across the road.

The Defence Force aircraft, P3 Orion, is on standby to provide aerial surveillance and support the Government of Tonga to assess the tsunami’s impact on the outer islands, as soon as atmospheric conditions allow.

“We have the aircraft ready to deploy and are looking at the deployment of a Navy vessel should it be required,” she said.

Photos from the Facebook page of Haloti Ulufonua on Lifuka island in Ha'apai show rubble, trees and rocks scattered across the streets after the tsunami in Tonga.

No loss of life had been confirmed early on Sunday evening, but there are growing concerns for at least 8000 people in the Ha’apai group of islands in Tonga, as phone and internet communications were still down on Sunday.

The eruption saw the Tonga Cable, which connects Tonga to the trans-Pacific cable, knocked out of action. The Southern Cross Cable Network has said the 872-kilometre fibre-optic communications cable may have been broken, potentially severing Tonga’s connection to the outside world.

“It appears that there may be a cable break after all,” Southern Cross sales director Craige Sloots late on Sunday, after uncertainty about the condition of the cable.

A cable break might mean communications to and from Tonga could remain limited for days or weeks, depending on whether any cut was on land or at sea.

Pakilau Manase Lua, who is part of the Tonga Auckland group, said locals in Tonga feared what would happen if the volcano erupted again, and were worried they would face more tsunamis.

“We haven’t heard of lives lost, there have been damages to property and things like that. Water shortage is a concern going forward because of contamination to the water catchments.

“(On Sunday) morning ash was still falling, a huge blanket over the whole island.”

Ardern said it was clear that clean drinking water was a need for Tonga.

Initial reports revealed the most damage on Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga – at the northern side of Nuku’alofa with boats and large boulders washed ashore.

New Zealand has made an initial $500,000 available to respond to requests from the Government of Tonga as and when they come in. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Defence Force, and other New Zealand agencies were working through air and sea options to provide assistance to Tonga.

Ardern said the NZ Government was in contact with its High Commission in Tonga, and was still urgently trying to find out as much as they could about what was happening on the ground.

Covid-19 safety was important, and Ardern said all New Zealand Defence Force personnel were fully vaccinated, and would follow whatever protocols the Tonga government set for them.

Over the weekend, tsunami advisories were issued in Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and the US Pacific coast after the eruption hit.

In Alaska and California, tsunami waves of more than 1 metre were observed, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported.

In Japan, up to 229,000 people in eight prefectures were asked to flee from the seaside, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Train, air and maritime transport services were affected, with 27 domestic flights cancelled, Kyodo reported. A total of 22 ships in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan, were found to have capsized or drifted.

In Peru, two people drowned off a beach in the north of the country, the National Institute of Civil Defence said on Sunday, after unusually high waves were recorded in several coastal areas following the Tonga eruption.

World Health Organisation head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet the organisation was 'ready to support the government and provide help to the people affected'.

Unicef said it was preparing emergency supplies to fly into Tonga in coordination with New Zealand and Australia.