Dear Editor, many of us are wondering why EMCI (Emergency Management Cook Islands) failed to put out early warnings to owners of boats in both Avarua and Avatiu harbours last Friday night before the tsunami resulting from the Tonga volcanic eruption capsized boats and caused others to smash into each other?

Where’s all that money gone to set up EMCI so it can warn Cook Islanders in times of crisis like this? Why are we not linked to any of the overseas warning systems? Who is asleep at the wheel? Poor show. Why not send an alert on social media? Where’s our national radio? How are the outer islands supposed to get information in times of crisis like this?

Apparently, the so-called national radio can no longer reach the outer islands because it’s been disbanded.

Poor show Cook Islands government. Effectively, you have abandoned the outer islands. It might be time for the outer islands to join another country since Rarotonga is no longer “e metua no te au pa enua i tai mai e”. Forget that old school song. For those outer islanders with computers, here’s a site that may help you keep track of seismic events or cyclones.

Don’t depend on your government to protect you. https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/jtwc.html

Secessionist

(Name and address supplied)

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One could be forgiven for thinking that the primary job of the Met Office was to monitor and forecast weather conditions … so what happened over the weekend?

Why are they now telling the public what caused this weather problem, when surely their job is to forewarn the public. Not much good closing the Ngutupa after the Oroenua has bolted.

EMCI not much better … all too late, but lots of blustering now the immediate threat is over.  

(Name and address supplied)

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Reply – A tsunami was generated by a volcanic eruption in Tonga on Friday, 14 January 2022 at 6.30pm CKT.

Unfortunately, the Cook Islands Meteorological Service (CIMS) did not receive any tsunami warnings from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, PTWC in Honolulu, Hawaii. None of the first six warnings were received by Cook Islands. These warnings are normally distributed in hourly intervals to all National Meteorological Services in the Pacific. This was not the case last Friday. It was subsequently discovered during an on-line search that earthquakes were taking place in Tonga and that were about 20 minutes apart. The average magnitude of the earthquakes was about 4.0.

Earthquakes of this size 4.0 would normally affect a local tsunami and not extend its effect to neighbouring countries. The volcanic eruption however that eventuated on Friday evening at 6.30pm was so huge that it created a tsunami that affected the whole of the Pacific. A tsunami warning was issued around this time, which the Cook Islands Meteorological Service did not receive. The Cook Islands were not the only country not to receive this warning.

The first warning the CIMS received was actually the seventh warning issued from PTWC, it was received at 10.26am on Saturday, 12 hours after the event. This warning was not issued to the public by the CIMS as it had become invalid.  PTWC has subsequently indicated that a failure on their backup system was responsible for not communicating the tsunami warning to all recipients. There were at least two countries in the Pacific that that did not receive the initial six messages. An investigation in this is taking place.

The effect of the tsunami on Rarotonga was the coastal inundation of the two sea ports on Rarotonga which resulted in all small sailing vessels being removed from the marina and moorings at the height of the tsunami around 8.54pm on Friday night. Our tsunami tide gauge measured the maximum height of 0.918m at the Avatiu wharf.

Emergency Management Cook Islands (EMCI) needs to be acknowledged for being proactive and on the ground alerting people of the situation in the short space of time we had around the arrival of the tsunami. Their efforts together with those of the fishing community and the general public who helped out on the night, went some way to keeping our communities and properties safe.

Te Atua te Aroa

Arona Ngari

Director

Cook Islands Meteorological Service