On January 14, an eruption on Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, a submarine volcano of the Tonga archipelago, began. The eruption peaked the next day on January 15. Having the explosive force of more than 100 simultaneous Hiroshima. The eruption was the most powerful on Earth in 30 years.
The eruption sent volcanic material surging as high as 25 miles into the atmosphere and generated a tsunami wave 49 feet high that hit parts of the nation’s archipelago including the Pacific nation’s main island.
The aftermath of the volcano has been confirmed to have killed three people. The island’s water supply has been cleared as safe to drink after extensive testing. However, there is still a public health risk due to the volcanic ash and emission. The exposure could lead to breathing difficulties, affect the cardiovascular system, and irritate the lungs, skin, and eyes.
One of the worst-hit is the island of Mango. 62 people from the island have been relocated to the outer island of Nomuka after losing their homes and all of their personal belongings.
Despite the clinic being swept away in the tsunami, rescuers have set up a field hospital.
The sole fiber-optic sea cable was severed in the explosion cutting off all connections to and from the remote archipelago for five days. After a patchy telephone line was restored, limited international calls are now available. A ship is due to arrive for the repair of the cable but has been previously estimated to take up to four weeks to repair.
Getting supplies to the completely COVID-19 free nation has proved to be a bit of a challenge. Australia and New Zealand have used their navy carry to make contactless drops of supplies to the nation.
Aid is still being given by local groups such as the Red Cross to combat covid fears. As of right now the support is successful and they have asked for no foreign aid workers to land in the country to prevent an outbreak. However, these conditions could change if conditions continue to worsen.