Tonga Volcano – Undersea Communications Cable Could Take Weeks To Repair

The South Pacific archipelago of Tonga could spend days, or even weeks, cut off from the rest of world because of difficulties in repairing its sole undersea communications cable, which an operator said was ruptured during a massive volcanic eruption.

In the aftermath of a 13-mile-wide volcanic eruption in Tonga, it could take weeks to repair an undersea communications cable that connected the South Pacific archipelago to the rest of the world.

Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai, an underwater volcano off the coast of Tonga, erupted Saturday, carrying volcanic ash nearly 20 kilometers into the air and causing tsunami waves that reached the western shores of the U.S. On Tuesday, the Tongan government confirmed three fatalities in its first official update following the eruption.

The archipelago relied on a single fiber optic cable for global communications, Reuters reported. But the cable ruptured amid the 7.6-magnitude earthquake as the volcano erupted.

“Due to the damage to the international fibre optic cable, the internet is down,” according to the Tongan government’s statement. “The two communications operators are working on satellite options to restore some services including the internet.”

WEATHER
The volcano in Tonga is still erupting which could make clean up difficult.

Since the eruption, internet traffic in Tonga has plummeted, according to data from Cloudflare.

Operators in Tonga will prioritize the restoration of international calling and other communications services, such as email, according to the statement. Domestic calls are also limited, according to the statement.

Craige Sloots, marketing and sales director at Southern Cross Cable Network says if all goes well, it could take two weeks for it to arrive.