Wellington Jan. 19 (BNA): The New Zealand government said on Wednesday that the vital link connecting Tonga with the world will take at least four weeks to repair.
The eruptions of the Hang, Tonga, Hongya and Hapai volcanoes in Tonga on Saturday killed at least three people, blanketed the Pacific nation in volcanic ash and triggered a tsunami as far away as Alaska, Japan and South America.
A cable that carries almost all digital information including internet and telephone communications has malfunctioned in two places.
The New Zealand government, according to German news agency dpa, stated that “American cable company SubCom advises that it will take at least four weeks for the cable connection in Tonga to be repaired.”
Digicel, an international mobile network provider, has set up a temporary system on the main island of Tonga via satellite.
However, connectivity will be “limited and incomplete, covering about 10 percent of usual capacity” and prioritizing voice and text communications.
Digicel said in a statement that the cable broke in two places. One was about 37 kilometers offshore between Tonga and Fiji, while the second was near the area of recent volcanic activity.
Shali Janev, regional CEO of Digicel, said a cable repair ship was on its way to Tonga.
“We know how important it is to keep people connected in times like these,” Janev said. “We are focused on doing everything we can to ensure we can establish international contact with Tonga.”
Wellington said the Tonga government had approved the arrival of New Zealand ships with vital supplies.
The ships left New Zealand on Tuesday and are expected to arrive in Tonga on Friday. One carries survey equipment and diving teams as well as a helicopter, while the other contains bulk water supplies, humanitarian and disaster relief warehouses.
A New Zealand plane loaded with collapsible water containers, generators and toiletries for families will land once the ash has been removed from the tarmac. Runway evacuation work is expected to be completed on Wednesday.
New Zealand will also conduct a second reconnaissance flight over the area on Wednesday.
It will include a survey of Fiji’s Southern Lao Islands, at the request of the Fiji government, to check the potential for tsunami damage.
The death toll from the explosion remained at three. Two Tongan citizens and one British citizen.
New Zealand said electricity has been restored, clean-up work and damage assessments are underway in Tonga.
An Australian naval vessel is also being loaded with supplies to provide additional humanitarian assistance and disaster relief if requested by Tonga.
HF