Tag Archives: Tonga

World

Tsunami warning issued for Tonga following volcanic eruption

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The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano first erupted Friday, sending a plume of ash 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) into the air, according to CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand (RNZ).

A second eruption hit on Saturday at 5:26 p.m. local time, RNZ reported.

Satellite imagery shows a massive ash cloud and shockwaves spreading from the eruption. Waves from the eruption crossed the shoreline of Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, flowing onto coastal roads and flooding properties, according to RNZ.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said it recorded a tsunami wave of 1.2 meters (about 4 feet) near Nuku’alofa at 5:30 p.m. local time on Saturday.

In addition to the tsunami warning, Tonga’s Meteorological Services have issued advisories for heavy rain, flash flooding and strong winds in lands and coastal waters.

The nearby island of Fiji has also issued a public advisory asking people living in low lying coastal areas to “move to safety in anticipation of the strong currents and dangerous waves.”

New Zealand’s official weather service said its weather stations across the country had observed “a pressure surge” on Saturday evening from the eruption.

The volcano is located about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) southeast of Tonga’s Fonuafo’ou island, according to RNZ.

An earlier tsunami warning issued for American Samoa has since been canceled, according to the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The volcano had been active from December 20, but was declared dormant on January 11, according to RNZ.

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World

Tonga prepares for potential lockdown after its first case of Covid-19

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Tonga was one of only a few countries that had not reported a single Covid case since the start of the pandemic. But on Friday, Tonga’s Prime Minister Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa confirmed its first positive case from a passenger who had traveled from New Zealand.

The infected traveler arrived in Tonga on Wednesday having flown from Christchurch, according to New Zealand’s Health Ministry.

The passenger was fully vaccinated, had tested negative in New Zealand prior to the flight’s departure, and was discovered among travelers staying at a hotel used for managed isolation and quarantine for new arrivals into the country.

Tu’i’onetoa said all airport staff who were in contact with any of the passengers on the flight have been quarantined and he warned Tongans to prepare for a potential national lockdown following the case, according to news website Matangi Tonga.

“We should use this time to get ready in case more people are confirmed they have the virus,” he reportedly said.

Following the news of the positive case, thousands of people rushed to vaccination centers to get their Covid shots, Matangi Tonga reported.

Tonga’s Minister of Health ‘Amelia Tuʻipulotu said the high turnout over the past few days will boost the nation’s vaccination coverage.

“More people are coming forward because now we have coverage of first dose of about 86% and a second dose of about 62%, so this is a major turnout today and will boost the overall coverage of first and fully vaccinated,” Tuʻipulotu said, according to Matangi Tonga.

Tonga is a Polynesian country of more than 170 South Pacific islands and home to about 100,000 people. The archipelago lies about 800 kilometers (497 miles) east of Fiji and 2,380 kilometers (1,480 miles) from New Zealand.

Though it hasn’t reported a Covid case until now, the island nation declared a state of emergency in March 2020 and shut its borders to foreign nationals.

Like other Pacific island nations, Tonga’s early action protected it from Covid outbreaks that could have devastated the country, where 22.1% of the population live below the national poverty line and medical facilities and equipment are limited.
But the strict travel measures have severely impacted the economies of Pacific island nations, especially those that rely on tourism.
The Pacific nations of Tuvalu and Naura are among the only countries in the world not to have reported a Covid infection. Turkmenistan and North Korea have also not officially reported any cases, though experts say those claims are unlikely to be true.

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