# Tonga Disaster **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 18, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995 "2022-01-18T14:30:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/1 "2022-01-18T14:30:05Z")
There is little news from Tonga. That worries me. You know how it is, when something like this happens communications are so messed up that the death count can go way up as teams get to the most-impacted areas. Isn’t it remarkable that in this day and age a disaster can cut off help for so long? It just sort of shows you the power of nature I suppose. The satellite [images](https://news.yahoo.com/satellite-images-show-tonga-volcanic-011039884.html) show widespread damage. I fear this will be very bad indeed. Sorry, but this forum is for stuff “I must share.” ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/2 "2022-01-18T14:34:19Z")
Yes - i find it surprising that we can see through 13 billion light years of space but can’t get a signal through an ash cloud. Surely there’s some types of signal that could get through ? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/3 "2022-01-18T15:45:57Z")
I went to YouTube for footage. The newscaster in New York cut to a newscaster in London. I suppose the Fiji bureau was cut as a budget measure. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/4 "2022-01-18T16:01:33Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Yes - i find it surprising that we can see through 13 billion light years of space > but can’t get a signal through an ash cloud. Volcanic “Ash” isn’t actually like the ash you get from burning wood as in a forest fire. It is pulverized rock. It is very dense. In fact, people breathing it can die when it clocks their lungs. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/5 "2022-01-18T17:04:02Z")
On the news this morning they were saying the main island has been damaged mainly from ashfall, and to a lesser extent from tsunamis. New Zealand is going to send a plane to the main airport to help determine what resources are needed from the outside world, and where to deploy them, as soon as they can clear ash from the runway. I cannot say how accurate all this is at the moment, but I am sure in the coming days we will be hearing and seeing a lot more, and I hope it’s not all horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/6 "2022-01-18T17:38:38Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > communications are so messed up > [@pjd](#): > > Yes - i find it surprising that we can see through 13 billion light years of space > but can’t get a signal through an ash cloud. > Surely there’s some types of signal that could get through ? Much of the world’s data transmission is still done through physical cables, and [that includes a huge network of undersea cables that transmit the bulk of global internet traffic](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/10/technology/internet-cables-oceans.html). By any definition Tonga is isolated and thus [only had one undersea communication cable linking it to the rest of the world.](https://www.submarinecablemap.com/submarine-cable/tonga-cable) That cable was severed by the eruption. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/7 "2022-01-18T18:10:34Z")
Would Sat Phones work? I would hope that someone would have one – any ham radio operators on Tonga? Brian ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/8 "2022-01-18T18:13:05Z")
They are getting some communication out, it’s not completely cut off. But they also had power outages as well. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/9 "2022-01-18T18:14:54Z")
Keep in mind that power is almost certainly out in Tonga, which might make operating radio equipment somewhere between difficult and impossible. A satellite phone or uplink running on batteries might work, but as pointed out, volcanic ash is dense enough that it might cause a problem. Also, all sorts of weird electrical stuff can happen around an erupting volcano (hence the reason you can often see lightning during an eruption) that can interfere with radio. Finally, immediate survival may be of such pressing concern that communication with the outside world may not be top on the list (I’d expect it to be fairly high up, though) We’ll get more information, just not immediately. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/10 "2022-01-18T18:18:57Z")
The other issue is they don’t want a bunch of relief workers coming in and spreading COVID, so on the ground they might not be able to get an accurate picture of the damage yet. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/11 "2022-01-18T19:16:20Z")
The UN World Food Programme typically sets up communications within hours, and also arranges immediate food and water and other survival items. > **[Emergency Telecommunications Cluster | World Food Programme](https://www.wfp.org/emergency-telecommunications-cluster)** > > From Afghanistan and Iraq, to Haiti, the Philippines and Nepal, for over a decade the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) – led globally by the World Food Programme (WFP) – has provided timely, predictable and effective telecommunications... ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/12 "2022-01-18T20:32:03Z")
Yes there has been some communication by satphone. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/13 "2022-01-18T20:35:48Z")
Volcanic ash also plays merry hell with airplane engines so flying stuff in and out (including communication) is problematical AF. Back when Mt St Helens blew its top a coworker had her Cessna engine replaced because it was up in Portland being rebuilt at the time and got so much ash in it they couldn’t rebuild it. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/14 "2022-01-18T21:04:08Z")
I understand that many questions about the situation in Tonga cannot yet be answered. But the coverage I read (mainly in the _Guardian_ and the _NY Times_) barely even touched on “Here’s what we don’t know, and here’s why we don’t know it.” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/15 "2022-01-18T21:17:19Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > The UN World Food Programme typically sets up communications within hours, and also arranges immediate food and water and other survival items. Part of the problem here is that Tonga is so far away from most of the rest of the world. Australia and New Zealand are sending ships, but it’s estimated that will take 3-4 days and they’re the nearest major nations. Flying in and out may or may not be feasible depending on what the volcano is doing. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/16 "2022-01-18T23:00:32Z")
Initial reports from fly-overs: not as bad as was feared. > **[3 dead, many homes destroyed — but Tonga escapes worst-case volcano eruption...](https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6318760)** > > Despite sitting almost on top of the volcano that erupted so violently on Saturday, the Pacific nation of Tonga appears to have avoided the widespread devastation that many initially feared. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/17 "2022-01-19T06:57:46Z")
Yeah, they are probably counting the however many hours to re-establish telephone and internet from when they actually get there. Their [web page](https://etcluster.org/emergency/tonga-volcanic-eruptiontsunami) does not atm give any info beyond what has already been posted in this thread and a generic statement that they are working on it, though updating a web page minute by minute is (I hope!) not at the top of anyone’s to-do list. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/18 "2022-01-19T10:11:07Z")
“Initial reports from fly-overs: not as bad as was feared.” We will see. I would be happy to be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/19 "2022-01-19T13:07:18Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Volcanic ash also plays merry hell with airplane engines so flying stuff in and out (including communication) is problematical AF. Back when Mt St Helens blew its top a coworker had her Cessna engine replaced because it was up in Portland being rebuilt at the time and got so much ash in it they couldn’t rebuild it. **[Ash can screw up jet engines pretty well](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_009)**, but don’t they put air filters on piston engines? ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995/20 "2022-01-19T14:11:43Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > I understand that many questions about the situation in Tonga cannot yet be answered. But the coverage I read (mainly in the _Guardian_ and the _NY Times_ ) barely even touched on “Here’s what we don’t know, and here’s why we don’t know it.” I watched the local news in DFW every morning since it happened. I’ve learned that the Dallas Cowboys played an important game and lost. The Dallas Cowboys coach talked about the important game they lost. The Dallas Cowboys practiced very hard and they showed file footage of Dallas Cowboys throwing balls and pretending to tackle large cushioned metal things. One of the Dallas Cowboys missed an important catch (or kick, or something). One of the Dallas Cowboys posted a mean tweet about something. One of the Dallas Cowboys later posted a nicer tweet about something. Another of the Dallas Cowboys didn’t like the first Dallas Cowboy’s tweet. The coach of the Dallas Cowboys said something about a tweet (maybe the same one?). The coach of the Dallas Cowboys has plans to not lose important games any more. And something is changing about something at the Dallas Cowboy’s practice field (or building or something). The only thing I know _for certain_ about the Tonga event is that the Dallas Cowboys were not affected by it – if they had been, it would have been the lead story all week. As of yesterday, I’ve not seen a single mention of the Tonga event on local news. Not one. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tonga-disaster/957995.md?page=2)