The volcanic eruption near Tonga shredded an 80-kilometre (50 mile) stretch of undersea cable, complicating efforts to reconnect the Pacific kingdom after a month of digital darkness, the company overseeing repairs says.

Tonga Cable Limited chief executive James Panuve said a repair ship had located the severed ends of the 840 kilometre-long cable linking Tonga to Fiji that was cut in the January 15 blast.

But rather than a clean break, Panuve said the ship found the eruption tore an 80 kilometre section of cable into numerous pieces as it pummelled the seabed with the explosive force of a nuclear bomb.

"It is obvious that the eruption, shockwaves, (and) tsunami caused major havoc underwater," he said Tuesday.

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano generated large tsunami waves and blanketed Tonga in toxic ash, claiming three lives.

Disaster relief efforts in the island nation of about 100,000 have been complicated by poor communications, with backup satellite links providing patchy broadband as the operation to repair the cable proceeds.

Panuve said that after contending with poor weather last week, the cable repair ship "Reliance" was now trying to retrieve sections of cable in waters up to 2.5 kilometres deep.

He said one section had been moved five kilometres by the undersea blast and another was buried under 30 centimetres of silt.

Despite the difficulties, Panuve was optimistic Tonga Cable could still meet its goal of repairing the digital link by February 20, saying plans were underway to create a "mini-system" to bridge the 80 kilometre gap.

Panuve said a piece of cable more than 55 kilometres long was still lost on the seabed and the ship was searching for it in the hope it was still usable.

In addition to the damage caused by the eruption and subsequent tsunamis, Tonga is also dealing with a Covid-19 outbreak after remaining virus free for much of the pandemic.

The main island Tongatapu and outlying Vava'u remain under lockdown with health authorities on Tuesday reporting a total of 139 cases nationwide.

International humanitarian aid continues to arrive, with two Chinese naval vessels this week delivering 1,300 tonnes of supplies, including 500 prefabricated houses.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Toxic ash from DR Congo volcano falling on Goma
Goma, Dr Congo (AFP) Feb 4, 2022
More than eight months after the Nyiragongo volcano erupted in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, toxic ash has started falling on nearby Goma, the city's Volcano Observatory said on Friday. Thirty-two people died from burns or asphyxiation when Nyiragongo roared back into life on May 22-23, 2021, sending torrents of lava into the outskirts of Goma, capital of North Kivu province. Two more people died in accidents as residents fled en masse and hundreds of homes were destroyed. The OVG ... read more