After repeated flare-ups, the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano finally erupted in the early hours of Saturday, 15 January.

The underwater blast lasted eight minutes, sending ash 60,000 feet into the sky in a 5km plume.

The impact was felt as far away as Peru, with ‘violent’ waves reaching 6,200 miles across the Pacific, spilling thousands of oil barrels into Peruvian waters.

Just 64km south of the volcano, the small Pacific Island country of Tonga was slammed by a tsunami wave of 1.2 metres.

The impact immediately severed communication lines, cutting off the islands from the rest of the world.

As a result, the true extent of the damage remains unknown. But overhead images show the islands blanketed in layers of volcanic ash. In coastal areas, trees were ripped down by the waves and buildings torn apart.

Early reports from the Tongan government say that 84% of the population has been directly affected and 99% of people have been impacted in some way.

Two islands have been evacuated due to the total destruction of all homes.

It has been reported that five people have lost their lives.

An unfolding situation: ‘Devastation in Tonga could be immense’
So far, dust and ash has hampered relief efforts.

But the Red Cross and International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) have been working round the clock to reach people, since the volcanic eruption.

Staff and volunteers have been travelling across the 36 islands, alongside authorities, to provide humanitarian aid to those worst affected. Katie Greenwood, IFRC’s Pacific Head of Delegation, says:

From what little updates we have, the scale of the devastation could be immense – especially for outer lying islands. But local Red Cross teams are well place to respond quickly to emergencies like this.

“Trained Tonga Red Cross teams will be on the ground supporting evacuations in coordination with public authorities, providing first aid if needed, and distributing prepositioned relief supplies.”

Although the picture is still unclear, there are fears that communities may not have access to safe and clean drinking water due to pollution from the ashfall and salt water from the Tsunami.

Shelter is also a concern, particularly for those communities near the coastline.

“The Red Cross currently has enough relief supplies in the country to support 1,200 households with essential items such as tarpaulins, blankets, kitchen sets, shelter tool kits and hygiene kits,” Katie continues.

“Red Cross societies and the IFRC will be on-hand to replenish supplies where needed.

“We are determined to provide the extra resources and support they may need in the face of such a devastating disaster,” Katie said.

Finding family and friends in Tonga
With communication lines down, people around the world have been unable to check on the welfare of family and friends in Tonga.

“One of the other priorities for the Tonga Red Cross will be to work with our Movement partner, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to restore family links,” Katie says.

“This will help people from all over the world try and find out if their family and friends in Tonga are safe and well.”

Supporting Red Cross societies around the world
The British Red Cross is able to support other Red Cross societies through regular gifts from our supporters.

If that’s something you do already, thank you. If not and you’d like to support our work in this way, sign up today.

Source: https://www.redcross.org.uk/stories/disasters-and-emergencies/world/tonga-one-of-the-worst-pacific-volcanic-eruptions-in-years

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The UN last week described the civil conflict in Yemen as an “absurd” war in which all parties, including a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, were showing a “complete disregard for human life.”

“This absurd war…has only resulted in the destruction of the country and the incommensurate suffering of its people, who are being punished as part of a futile military campaign by both sides,” McGoldrick added.

McGoldrick cited two air raids by the Saudi-led Arab coalition on December 26 that together claimed scores of civilian lives.

The first killed 54 civilians, including eight children, at a “crowded popular market” in Taez province, and the second, in the Red Sea province of Hodeida, killed 14 people from the same family, the statement said.

On 5 December, Yemen’s former president and rebel leader Ali Abdullah Saleh was assassinated in the area of Khawlan in the capital Sanaa as he was fleeing Houthi rebels. His envoy was ambushed with an RPG rocket and he was then reportedly assassinated by gunfire. Some of his aides were killed, while others were injured.

Over the past 33 months, the situation on the ground in Yemen has witnessed many developments, other than the killing of Saleh, such as the spread of Cholera, famine, and drought. Another 41 civilians had been killed in other fighting in Yemen in the past 10 days, according to the statement.

“I remind all parties to the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition, of their obligations under International Humanitarian Law to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure and to always distinguish between civilian and military objects,” McGoldrick said.

He said that the conflict in Yemen has no military solution and that negotiations are necessary to resolve it.

Yemen, which was plunged into a brutal civil war in March 2015, has reached another dark milestone. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced last Thursday that more than one million people in the Arabian Peninsula country are now affected by cholera.

In November, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that almost 2,200 people had already died from the waterborne disease. The problem has been exacerbated by worsening hygiene and sanitation conditions in the country.

The Red Cross emphasised that cholera is not the only problem plaguing the county’s civilian population, adding that 80% of Yemenis lack access to food, fuel, clean drinking water, and healthcare. Although the number of cholera cases registered each week has gone down over the past three months, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said, “the epidemic is not yet over, and more concerted efforts should be deployed to ensure its control in the immediate term and the prevention of future outbreaks.”

Yemen relies heavily on food and fuel imports and the fuel is used to distribute food throughout the country and to keep electricity running. Water supply is also affected since the necessary installations to pump water and adequately treat it are out of order due to the fuel shortage, thus making waterborne diseases a major concern.

However, in parallel the coalition’s aggression against Houthi rebels, there are the ballistic missiles which continue to be fired at Saudi lands leading to more retaliation on Yemeni lands. On 19 December, a missile was fired at the Yamama Palace in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. On the same day, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted the ballistic missile south of the capital. The attack was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Houthi movement, who said that a ballistic missile had targeted the royal court, where they claimed a meeting of Saudi leaders was taking place that Tuesday.

Yemen has devolved into economic instability and political turmoil since Saleh’s forced resignation in 2012, after Yemen’s Arab Spring uprising. The political crisis resulted in the house arrest of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who at the time fled to the south and rescinded his resignation. He is currently in self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia.

Source: https://dailynewsegypt.com/2018/01/02/post-saleh-guerrilla-conflicts-leave-scores-civilians-dead/

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