SITUATION ANALYSIS
The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai (HTHH) volcano on 15 January 2022 was the largest recorded since the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. The eruption triggered tsunami waves of up to 15m, which struck the west coast of Tongatapu, ‘Eua and Ha’apai. The thick blankets of ash from the eruption blocked out the sun, creating darkness, and then fell covering vast areas in a thick layer.
As a result of damage to international and domestic undersea telecommunications, little information was accessible from Tonga following the eruption. However, the New Zealand Defence Force and Australian Defence Forces surveillance flights on 17 January 2022 revealed significant damage to houses, roads, water tanks and other infrastructure on the west coast of Tongatapu, the Ha’apai island group and the west coast of ‘Eua. On 18 January 2022, the Prime Minister of Tonga declared a state of emergency effective from 16 January 2022. The Tongan government and TRCS requested international assistance to respond to the disaster.
Tragically, three people died (officially confirmed) as a direct consequence of the disaster, and one person died indirectly. As the eruption occurred during the daytime, producing very loud sonic booms, fatalities and injuries were minimized as people took concerted actions to escape the coastline. On Tongatapu, Ha’apai and ‘Eua, 84,176 people or 84 per cent of the population were affected, particularly by ashfall, according to early government estimates. In the immediate aftermath, around 3,000 people were displaced, including some evacuees from seriously affected islands off the coast of Tongatapu and in the Ha’apai island group. Most subsequently returned to their communities, although some families evacuated from badly affected islands remain on Tongatapu.
Impacts of COVID-19
On 1 February 2022, there was an outbreak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, which had a considerable impact on the response. The Tongan government established a range of COVID-19 prevention measures, including lockdowns, a curfew, school and business closures and restrictions on events and gatherings. Some of these restrictions were eased for TRCS during February, enabling some critical response activities to proceed as planned. By the end of September 2022, the government had lifted restrictions on movement into and around the country and allowed vaccinated tourists to start visiting.
The planned distribution of much-needed TRCS relief items to the Ha’apai Island group with the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) was temporarily delayed. Initially due to a storm, then because of COVID-19 travel restrictions. This challenge was partly overcome with the support from an Australian defence force vessel that provided logistical assistance to NEMO by shipping relief items to island destinations.
TRCS supported COVID-19 prevention efforts by distributing printed IEC (Information, Education and Communication) materials and disseminating prevention messages via TRCS Facebook page. TRCS has continued to support the Tongan Ministry of Health through various means, including providing hygiene kits for quarantined people and loaning its vehicles to transport people arriving in Tonga on repatriation flights. By the end of 2022, most of the population was fully vaccinated. WHO reported that by the end of December 2022, 80 per cent of the eligible population had been vaccinated. With declining case numbers, restrictions were eased. Some communities remained vigilant, while others preferred to minimise contact with outsiders.