Page 36 - Islands Business March 2022

Opinion Opinion

The Tongan relief effort. Photo: Tonga Red Cross

TONGAN VOLCANIC ERUPTION

PROMPTS RESILIENCE

By Kaliopate Tavola ing readily to calls of help from family members. Community
groups, of various interests reacted energetically to make a
The volcanic eruptions of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in difference in the lives of those affected.
January and resulting tsunami have come and gone. In their The eruptions were strong and powerful. But they had been
wake, many learnings can be gleaned as talking points for bubbling since late December 2021 – shaking the seas near
expedient national and regional reflections on the modus Tonga with a series of outbursts. Things kicked into a higher
operandi for a range of issues. These include post-disaster gear in January with powerful blasts on January 13 and 14,
humanitarianism, relief and rehabilitation, mobilisation of and an even bigger one on January 15 that sent ash and dust
diasporic resources, persistent short and long-term risks, and 25 miles into the Pacific sky. This undersea volcano, according
even revisiting the science of volcanology. Moreover, a critical to www.space.com released up to 18 megatons of energy that
learning that has substantial trans-generational appeal is that was about 1,200 times more powerful than the atomic bomb
which would throw light on our collective resilience – tradi- the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima in 1944.
tional and cultural, that has accrued and still accruing over- Nature publication reported on the scientific values of these
time - over generations. And judicious application of the same eruptions that are currently exciting the curiosity of the sci-
will put us in good stead when threatened by future disasters, entists – vulcanologists specifically. “Researchers are finding it
including even our existential threat of climate change. hard to explain why the volcano sent a cloud to such heights
Regional governments, including some of the Pacific Rim yet emitted less ash than would be expected for an eruption
countries and beyond, were quick to respond with humanitar- of such magnitude. And the shock waves that rippled through
ian assistance. This is admirable. Humanitarianism is alive the atmosphere and oceans are unlike anything seen in the
and well in the region. That, however, did not stop the cynics modern scientific era,” it reported.
from commenting. There were those who, for example, saw These eruptions are an excellent reminder of the danger
unsavoury motives in the acts of bilateral or geopolitical that we face in the Pacific, the home of the Ring of Fire and
humanitarianism. Whatever they were, the Tongan people many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. This horseshoe-
appreciated the compassion writ large in these philanthropic shaped belt about 40,000km long and up to 500km wide is the
consignments. I suppose that is what counts in calamitous direct result of plate tectonics: specifically the movement,
situations, such as that which confronted our Tongan neigh- collision and destruction of lithospheric plates under and
bours. The calamity and its various challenges will continue to around the Pacific Ocean.
test the resolve of the Tongans for some time yet. The Ring of Fire contains approximately 850-1000 volca-
The Tongan diaspora was not going to be left out in this noes that have been active during the last 11,700 years. This
humanitarian zest. We read about individual efforts respond- is about two-thirds of the world’s total. Certainly, the four

36 Islands Business, March 2022