Tragedy in Tonga

Ash falling from the sky, waves crashing high and mighty, feet rushing to higher ground.

Chaos ran through Tonga, a Polynesian country with a population of 104,494 as of 2021. Tonga is a country in Oceania and it is covered in white sand and crystal clear water beaches all across the islands. The main island, Tongataptu, is walled by a large coral reef and home to plantations and beach resorts for a paradise vacation destination.

On Saturday, January 15, this glorious  beach vacation destination turned to crumbling ash. A volcano, known as Hunga-Tonga-Hunga Hu’apai, erupted. According to CNN, this eruption was, “likely the biggest volcanic event recorded since Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991.”

Further eruptions of this volcano were raising the risk of a tsunami, according to New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry. On the day of the eruption, there were tsunami waves that rose as high as 49 feet and the waves attacked the west coast of Tongataptu and some other islands.

Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni told CNN, “all houses on the island of Mango, where 36 people live, were destroyed. Only two houses remain on Fonoifua island, and extensive damage was reported on Nomuka island, home to 239 people.”  People’s lives were torn apart, and continue to be threatened, because of this natural disaster.

The official leading the WHO liason office in Tonga said to CNN, “After the eruption initially, there was a sound on the roof like rain, and it was not actually a rain. It was smell pellets falling from the sky.” After Tonga woke up in the morning it was, “gray snow like two centimeters everywhere,” Setoya continues.

The terror was not only evident in Tonga, but spread to the west coast of the United States. There were tsunami warnings blasted across the news and high waves surging across the coast of California.

How did this tragedy happen? Scientists have been looking into the eruption and tsunami. Unlike most eruptions, the eruption of the Hunga volcano is not likely to have a cooling effect on the climate. However, according to New York Times, scientists are saying that there will be a result of short term weather patterns in certain parts of the world and a possibility of disruptions in radio systems. A cloud containing dirt, rock, volcanic gases, and water vapor a few hundred miles in diameter was released into the atmosphere by this eruption.

Because of the devastation and destruction on the islands, there are efforts to cleanup and acquire water that is safe to drink. However, Tonga has only reported one COVID-19 case throughout the pandemic and they are concerned that aid from people outside of Tonga will bring in a coronavirus outbreak. To accommodate to their needs, the WHO has been working with them via telecommunication to send equipment to sanitize water and aid for the repair and re-build of shelters. An underwater cable got compromised due to the eruption and tsunami, meaning Tongans have limited access to their loved ones as the  cables are being salvaged.