International Tsunami Survey Team Tonga

2022-08-26T05:15:00+00:00

Post-Tsunami Field Survey of the 15 January 2022
Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption and Tsunami

From January 15th, 2022, at approximately 4:47 pm local time (0347 UTC), several weeks of heightened activity at the Hunga volcano (Cronin et al., 2017) 65 km northwest of Tongatapu, culminated in an 11-hour long violent eruption. During the first 45 minutes of this eruption a massive atmospheric pressure wave and a series of tsunamis were generated and observed around the world (Carvajal et al., 2022, Lynett et al., 2022). The eruption severed an undersea telecommunications cable resulting in a near-blackout in communications between Tongatapu and the world as only satellite phones and HF radio were able to work. Restoration of communications through the repair of the cable took until 22 February 2022 (5.5 weeks).

The first successful science / tsunami warning centre communications with the Tonga Meteorological Service (TMS) was 25 January, 10 days after the eruption. when the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) Director was finally able to connect to TMS by satellite phone. This communication resulted in three requests from the Government of Tonga for support to repair and re-strengthen their tsunami warning and weather forecasting operations.

Due to the immediate post-disaster needs of the community and because of travel restrictions to and within Tonga caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a comprehensive field survey of the impacts and effects of tsunami runup and inundation was not conducted in the immediate aftermath of the event. Unlike for past damaging tsunamis, no International Tsunami Survey Teams were able to deploy to work with Tongan government officials to conduct detailed surveys although local investigators. These surveys are important because they increase tsunami risk knowledge, strengthen support for community recovery, support future improvements to the Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS) and contribute to the fundamental understanding of the tsunami phenomenon itself.

To address this need, the Government of Tonga first officially requested support from New Zealand or Australian scientists to conduct a post-tsunami survey. Given the travel restrictions, New Zealand, USA and SPC, sent in lieu surveying equipment to the Tonga Geological Services (TGS) to assist in collecting runup and inundation data.

Additionally, the ITIC requested that The Pacific Community (SPC) engage an experienced international tsunami scientist (Dr. Jose C. Borrero) to provide remote training and assistance on post-tsunami field data collection techniques and to compile the results of a series of surveys into a technical report. This report and the data collected are provided for download below.

Document	Format
Summary of findings (and other info) - web site	Link
Journal: Tsunami Runup and Inundation in Tonga from the January 2022 Eruption of the Hunga Volcano, Borrero et al., Pure and Applied Geophysics (2022)	PDF (8 MB) Link
Report: Field Survey of Runup and Inundation in Tonga from the January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Volcano, Borrero et al. (2022) UNESCO & The Pacific Community release new report on 2022 HUNGA TONGA – HUNGA HA’APAI Tsunami (UNESCO News, 12 January 2023)	PDF (65 MB) Link
Tsunami Observations Summary Maps Global Regional	PNG (4 MB), PDF (13 MB) PNG (3 MB), PDF (15 MB)
Spreadsheet with Tonga tsunami field survey summary data	XLSX (66 KB)
Spreadsheets with detailed tsunami field data	ZIP (767 KB)
Tonga Meteorological Services Response Timeline and Initial Report	PDF (3.2 MB)
Videos from Tonga Geological Services of the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption on January 14m 2022	Link
Videos from Tonga Geological Services of the aftermath from the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai tsunami	Link
Field Survey Photos
Kanokupolu	ZIP (368 MB), Kanokupolu NIWA ZIP (234 MB), Otukaha ZIP (31 MB), Beach shots ZIP (451 MB), Sediment ZIP (111 MB), Other files
Kanokupolu Ha’atafu	ZIP (103 MB), Ha’atafu 1 ZIP (54 MB), Ha’atafu 2 ZIP (327 MB), Sediment 1 ZIP (353 MB), Sediment 2 ZIP (40 MB), Damage
Likuloa	ZIP (844 MB), Liku’alofa 1 ZIP (446 MB), Liku’alofa 2
Utukehe, White Sands	ZIP (206 MB), Utukehe 1 ZIP (206 MB), Utukehe 2 ZIP (332 MB), Sediment 1 ZIP (329 MB), Sediment 2 ZIP (40 MB), Other
Kala’au, Piliki	ZIP (248 MB), Kala’au 1 ZIP (274 MB), Kala’au 2 ZIP (77 MB), Fanga Piliki 1 ZIP (97 MB), Fanga Piliki 2 ZIP (60 MB), Fanga Piliki 3
Nomuka, Mango, Fonoifua	ZIP (170 MB), Nomuka 1 ZIP (308 MB), Nomuka 2 ZIP (246 MB), Nomika Iki 1 ZIP (300 MB), Nomika Iki 2 ZIP (374 MB), Nomika Iki 3 ZIP (303 MB), Mango ZIP (109 MB), Fonoifua ZIP (146 MB), Others
Tonumea, Tungua	ZIP (415 MB), Tonumea 1 ZIP (422 MB), Tonumea 2 ZIP (258 MB), Tungua 1 ZIP (337 MB), Tungua 2 ZIP (64 MB), Crater
Tongatapu, Atata	ZIP (41 MB), Boat ZIP (301 MB), Atata ZIP (64 MB), Miscellaneous ZIP (61 MB), Other
Tongatapu: Good Samaritan, Keleti	ZIP (265 MB), Samaletane ZIP (150 MB), Keleti ZIP (20 MB), Other
Tongatapu: South Coast	ZIP (251 MB), Hufangalupe ZIP (220 MB), Ahounonou ZIP (239 MB), Katea ZIP (87 MB), Halaika ZIP (16 MB), Emeline ZIP (31 MB), Taupoou
Tongatapu: Northeast Coast	ZIP (12 MB), Kolonga ZIP (108 MB), Manuka ZIP (75 MB), Halava Popua Patangata ZIP (181 MB), Patangata ZIP (64 MB), Rubbish dump
Atata, Fafa	ZIP (304 MB), Atata ZIP (348 MB), Fafa ZIP (52 MB), Extras
Tongatapu: North	ZIP (103 MB), Te’ekiu Nukunuku ZIP (196 MB), Sopu ZIP (160 MB), Nuku’alofa ZIP (103 MB), Sunsets, etc
‘Eua	ZIP (58 MB), Blue Water ZIP (85 MB), ‘Eua Wharf ZIP (70 MB), Ha’aluma ZIP (39 MB), Ha’atu’a ZIP (380 MB), Ohonua Pausa ZIP (40 MB), Ohonua SOT ZIP (76 MB), Road from Ta’anga to Ohonua ZIP (46 MB), Ta’anga ZIP (18 MB), Wharf

ITST-Tonga - International Tsunami Information Center

International Tsunami Survey Team Tonga