The islands of Tonga disappeared from the world after the eruption of an underwater volcano whose fury has not yet subsided. Satellite communications are interrupted, submarine cables have broken, a cloud of ash covers the area preventing the severity of the damage caused by the tsunami that followed the eruption from being verified. Airplanes have taken off from Australia and New Zealand that will fly over the area and from which an initial report will perhaps be made. But Tonga, after the disaster, no longer existed: no voice left the island, no voice reached it. The first death toll from the eruption has thus recorded only two victims so far: two swimmers hit by the waves in Peru, thousands of kilometers away.
Hunga volcano exploded underwater on January 15, creating a huge cloud of ash and debris that dozens of orbiting satellites photographed and filmed. Under that still burning mass that spread over the ocean were the islands of the Kingdom of Tonga, one of the main island states of Polynesia. Its one hundred thousand inhabitants heard a deafening noise, the earth shook and the sky darkened in an instant. The ash began to fall, covering everything. The electrical control units have failed, together with the satellite internet connections, with mobile phones, with any other communication tool. After a few minutes the tsunami arrived and the sea waves, a couple of meters high, crossed the main island, Tongatapu, from one end to the other. As videos of the explosion went viral around the world, no satellite could see the Kingdom of Tonga anymore to see if it still existed, or to count its victims.
Two days later, Monday, some electrical switchboards started working again, some telephones started ringing again. Whoever has the authority advised citizens to stay indoors, to pay attention to what you eat and drink, because everything could be contaminated by ashes. The inhabitants, the only ones in the world spared from the Covid epidemic, were also told to wear masks too to protect themselves not from the virus, but from polluted air.
The tsnumai caused by the volcano’s explosion crossed the Pacific Ocean and hit South America and the coasts of the United States. In New Zealand, some boats capsized or ran aground in ports, one meter high waves hit Australia. And that’s not all: the volcano resumed its activity on Monday afternoon and it is not known what other damage it has caused or is still causing.
Around the Pacific Ocean is the so-called “ring of fire”, a chain that includes about 2,000 volcanoes, mostly submarine and inactive. The archipelago of Tonga is located right in the southern part of the ring, where earthquakes and eruptions occur frequently. But no one in living memory remembers such a catastrophic event for an underwater volcano. A few hours ago it resumed its activity, making rescue and surveys even more difficult and making Tonga disappear from the world again.