New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a press conference on the 16th that the known disaster was mainly property damage, and the disaster was particularly serious in the north of Nugualoufa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. The small-scale tsunami washed ships and boulders on land, and some Shops and houses were also submerged by sea water, and the capital was almost shrouded in thick volcanic ash. The Tonga Royal Government has warned people to wear masks and drink mineral water as much as possible.
Communications resume, casualty numbers likely to rise
Although no casualties have been reported, Ardern pointed out that as the kingdom of Tonga resumes external communications and contacts residents living on the coast and on more remote islands, there are likely to be casualties.
▲ On the 17th, both New Zealand and Australia sent reconnaissance planes to the Kingdom of Tonga to investigate the disaster. (Source: Dazhi Image)
New Zealand and Australia ready for disaster relief
Ardern mentioned that the navy is ready to land on the island to assist in disaster relief, and the government has prepared a disaster relief budget of 500,000 New Zealand dollars (about 9.59 million Taiwan dollars); Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne also mentioned that the Australian federal government will allocate 100 US$10,000 (approximately NT$27.89 million) for disaster relief.
Don’t dare to send people to the island easily, for fear of aggravating the epidemic situation in Tonga Kingdom
However, at present, the two countries do not dare to easily send people to the Kingdom of Tonga. On the one hand, they are not clear about the scale of the disaster in the Kingdom of Tonga, and on the other hand, they are worried about aggravating the COVID-19 epidemic in the Kingdom of Tonga.
As early as March 2020, the Kingdom of Tonga announced the closure of its borders. Although the tourism industry, the mainstay of the economy, has been hit hard, it has also successfully kept the COVID-19 epidemic out of the country, with only one confirmed case so far. Rescue forces from various countries did not dare to act rashly, for fear that the COVID-19 epidemic in the Kingdom of Tonga would be brought into an irreversible situation.
However, on the 17th, both New Zealand and Australia sent reconnaissance planes to the Kingdom of Tonga to investigate the disaster in order to clarify the next disaster relief plan.
▲ After the eruption of the Hunghapai volcano, small-scale tsunamis occurred in almost all Pacific Rim countries. Several fishing boats parked at the port of Kochi Prefecture in Japan also capsized. (Source: Dazhi Image)
Pacific Rim countries stand ready
In addition to paying close attention to the disaster in the Kingdom of Tonga, Pacific Rim countries are also keeping an eye on changes in tide levels to prevent tsunami surprises. New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Chile and other countries have almost all closed their beaches preventively, and the United States has also warned residents of Hawaii, Alaska, and the Pacific coast to stay away from the coast, go to high places for shelter, and keep an eye on whether the authorities issue an alert.
“We’ve never issued an alert for such a long coastline … it’s definitely not a common occurrence,” said Dave Snider, an expert at the US National Tsunami Warning Center.
Most sporadic disasters, no mass casualties
The tsunami did indeed appear. Both Australia and Japan experienced a tsunami with a wave height of about 1.2 meters. Some Japanese people even had to take their luggage to the heights to escape late at night.
However, in general, the tsunami disasters in the Pacific Rim were not serious, with ships overturned as the major one, and no large-scale casualties were reported. Only two people were killed in Peru, but this may be related to the authorities’ misjudgment of the disaster and the failure to close the beach in time, which led to the drowning of two female tourists playing in the water.
Taiwan also has a record of tsunami, but the scale is small, and no serious disaster has been reported.
Volcanoes may erupt again in the future
Although the disaster is not serious, Shane Cronin, a geologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, still warns everyone not to take it lightly, because according to the historical eruption record of the Hunghapai volcano, the eruption may last for several days. Weeks or months, “and the scale of future eruptions is likely to be similar to the scale of the eruption on the 15th.”
“People in the Kingdom of Tonga must be alert to future eruptions, especially short-term tsunamis, and avoid going to low-lying areas as much as possible.”
A spokesman for the United Nations for the Pacific region echoed similar sentiments, warning that “more eruptions and tsunamis” are likely in the future.
(This article is written by Earth Atlas Team Reprinted with permission; source of the first image:NASA）