Tonga’s Olympic flag-bearer Pita Taufatofua reveals father is missing after volcanic eruption

The Tongan flag-bearer, who went viral at the 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony, has said his father is missing after Saturday’s massive volcanic eruption.

Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua, who went viral when he carried his country’s flag in traditional dress at the 2016 Olympics, has said his father is missing following an underwater volcanic eruption which struck the Pacific nation.

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano caused “significant damage” to the kingdom of Tonga, smothering it in dust, though the full extent was still unknown with communications remaining cut off on Sunday night.

It also triggered tsunami warnings for coastlines from Australia to Japan and the US.

Tonga’s flag-bearer Pita Taufatofua during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Picture: Olivier Morin/AFP

Mr Taufatofua, who is both a taekwondo athlete and cross-country skier, was also flag-bearer at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, North Korea. Picture: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP

Pita Taufatofua, who has represented his country in both taekwondo and cross-country skiing, posted the news on Sunday afternoon that his father, Dr Pita Taufatofua, is among a number of family members who are missing.

The athlete is currently in a training camp in Australia but said he was “immobilising all the assistance I can to send to our beloved Tonga,” with a GoFundMe page started by the Olympic star reaching almost $170,000 overnight.

He said his father, who is the Governor of Ha’apai, “was trying to fly back to Ha’apai from Tongatapu straight after the opening of parliament.

“After getting to the airport his flight was cancelled due to the volcanic eruption. Last we heard he was securing our home in Veitongo right on the water’s edge. Our family in Ha’apai has had all communication cut off.”

Hours later, the taekwondo star thanked his followers “for all the messages of concern,” but said: “I have not yet heard from or about my father in Veitongo or family who are in Ha’apai.

“I cannot focus there. All is in God’s hands.”

‘Significant’ damage as other countries promise aid

Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa suffered “significant” damage as a result of the eruption, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, adding there had been no reports of injury or death but a full assessment was not yet possible with communication lines down.

“The tsunami has had a significant impact on the foreshore on the northern side of Nuku’alofa with boats and large boulders washed ashore,” Ms Ardern said after contact with the New Zealand embassy in Tonga.

“Nuku’alofa is covered in a thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise conditions are calm and stable.”

Tonga was in need of water supplies, she said.

“The ash cloud has caused contamination.”

There has been no word on damage in the outer islands and New Zealand will send an air force reconnaissance aircraft “as soon as atmospheric conditions allow”, the country’s Defence Force tweeted.

“We’re working hard to see how we can assist our Pacific neighbours after the volcanic eruption near Tonga.”

Tonga has also accepted Canberra’s offer to send a surveillance flight, Australia’s foreign office said, adding it is also immediately prepared to supply “critical humanitarian supplies”.

The US was “deeply concerned for the people of Tonga”, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, pledging support for the island nation.

Images taken by Haloti Ulufonua show some of the damage caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga. Picture: Facebook

Fiery skies seen in Tonga after an ocean volcano erupted on Saturday. Picture: Eileen Tauiliili/Facebook

A 1.2m wave swept ashore in the Tongan capital with residents reporting they had fled to higher ground, leaving behind flooded houses, some with structural damage, as small stones and ash fell from the sky.

“It was massive. The ground shook, our house was shaking. It came in waves. My younger brother thought bombs were exploding nearby,” resident Mere Taufa told the Stuff news website on Saturday.

She said water filled their home minutes later and she watched the wall of a neighbouring house collapse.

Tsunami waves hit Tonga after the underwater volcano erupted. Picture: Twitter/JohnnyTeisi

‘People screaming’

“We just knew straight away it was a tsunami. Just water gushing into our home,” Taufa said.

“You could just hear screams everywhere, people screaming for safety, for everyone to get to higher ground.”

Tonga’s King Tupou VI was reported to have been evacuated from the Royal Palace in Nuku’alofa and taken by police convoy to a villa well away from the coastline.

Dramatic satellite images showed the long, rumbling eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano as it spewed smoke and ash into the air, with a thunderous roar heard 10,000km away in Alaska.

The eruption triggered tsunamis across the Pacific with waves of 1.74m measured in Chanaral, Chile, more than 10,000km away, and smaller waves seen along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico.

In California, the city of Santa Cruz was hit by flooding due to a tidal surge generated by the tsunami, videos retweeted by the US National Weather Service showed.

Peru closed 22 ports as a precaution while waves of around 1.2m hit Japan’s Pacific coast.

By 0300 GMT on Sunday, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the threat from the eruption had passed.

King Tupou VI of Tonga. Picture: Edwina Pickles/Fairfax Media/Getty Images

Heard in Alaska

The US Geological Survey recorded Saturday’s eruption as equivalent to a 5.8-magnitude earthquake at zero depth.

It lasted at least eight minutes and sent plumes of gas, ash and smoke several kilometres into the air.

Marco Brenna, a senior lecturer at Otago University’s School of Geology in New Zealand, described the impact of the eruption as “relatively mild” but said another eruption with a much bigger impact could not be ruled out.

The eruption was so powerful it was even heard in Alaska, the UAF Geophysical Institute tweeted.

“A part of the pressure signal in Alaska was in the audible range. The very large signal is not that surprising considering the scale of the eruption, but the audible aspect is fairly unique,” it said, citing Alaska Volcano Observatory scientist David Fee.

“He recalls only a couple other volcanic eruptions doing something like this: Krakatau and Novarupta.”

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption was heard here in Alaska starting around 3:30 a.m. - 6,000 miles from the volcano! Infrasound measurements from the @alaska_avo confirm that it was indeed coincident with the volcanic pressure wave. Special thanks to Dr. David Fee. pic.twitter.com/Wp4tnwiaud

— NWS Alaska Region (@NWSAlaska) January 15, 2022

This referred to the 19th-century eruption of Indonesia’s Krakatau, and Alaska’s Novarupta, the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century.

In Scotland, the Fife weather station tweeted it was “just incredible to think of the power that can send a shockwave around the world” after the eruptions produced a jump in its air pressure graph.

The shockwave from the #TongaVolcano eruption has been recorded at my weather station here in #Fife! Notice the small jump in the air pressure graph. Just incredible to think of the power that can send a shockwave around the world! #Tongapic.twitter.com/loduw1F2CO

— FifeWeather.co.uk (@fifeweather) January 15, 2022

Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai, which lies about 65km north of Nuku’alofa, has a history of volatility.

In recent years, it breached the sea level during a 2009 eruption.

And in 2015 it spewed so many large rocks and ash into the air that when they settled, a new island had formed which was 2km long by 1km wide and 100m high.

Originally published as Tonga’s Olympic flag-bearer Pita Taufatofua reveals father is missing after volcanic eruption