On January 15th, 2022, the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano erupted in a powerful display, with ash and debris spewing into the air and triggering tsunami waves that reached heights of up to 15 meters. This eruption was the largest recorded since the famous Krakatoa eruption in 1883. The ashfall from the eruption covered an area of at least five square kilometers, and the tsunami waves struck the west coast of Tongatapu, ‘Eua, and Ha’apai. Damage to international and domestic undersea telecommunications made it difficult to gather information about the aftermath of the eruption in Tonga. However, surveillance flights conducted by the New Zealand Defence Force and Australian Defence Forces on January 17th revealed significant damage to homes, roads, water tanks, and other infrastructure on the west coast of Tongatapu, the Ha’apai island group, and the west coast of ‘Eua.
On January 18th, the Prime Minister of Tonga declared a state of emergency, effective from January 16th, and the Tongan Government and TRCS requested international assistance. So far, only three direct and one indirect fatality have been officially attributed to the volcano and tsunami. Early estimates by the government suggest that 84,176 people, which is 84% of the population of Tongatapu, Ha’apai, and ‘Eua, were affected by the ashfall. Around 3,000 people were displaced in the immediate aftermath, including some who were evacuated from islands that were seriously affected off the coast of Tongatapu and in the Ha’apai island group. While most people returned to their communities, some families evacuated from badly affected islands remain on Tongatapu.
