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Asia
亞洲版塊
Tonga's volcanic eruption
湯加火山噴發
A kingdom cut off
被切斷的王國
The scale of the damage remains unclear
損失的規模尚不清楚
WORD CAME at last.
消息終于傳來了。
Three days after Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in the Kingdom of Tonga erupted on January 15th, the prime minister's office released a statement.
1月15日，湯加王國的洪阿湯加·洪阿哈阿帕伊火山爆發三天后，首相辦公室發表了一份聲明。
The eruption was an "unprecedented disaster" for the archipelago and three deaths were confirmed.
這次火山爆發對該群島來說是一場“前所未有的災難”，已致3人死亡。
The blast created a vast ash cloud and led to a tsunami (two people drowned across the Pacific ocean in Peru).
火山爆發形成了巨大的火山灰云團，并且引發了海嘯（兩人在太平洋彼岸的秘魯溺水身亡）。
Explosions of volcanic gas were audible more than 2,000km away in New Zealand and plumes of gas rose more than 20km into the sky.
在2000多公里外的新西蘭可以聽到火山氣體的爆炸聲，氣體的羽流上升到20多公里的高空。
In a biblical flourish, pebbles rained down on the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa, located some 65km south of the volcano.
在大規?；鹕奖l中，鵝卵石雨點般地落在湯加首都努庫阿洛法，該城位于火山以南約65公里處。
The eruption was driven by subduction, a process whereby one of Earth's tectonic plates (in this case the Pacific one) sinks beneath the edge of another (in this instance the Indo-Australian one).
這次火山噴發是由俯沖驅動的，即地球的一個板塊（本例中為太平洋板塊）下沉到另一個板塊（本例中為印度-澳大利亞板塊）邊緣之下的過程。
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai sits within the “Ring of Fire”, a geological fault line encircling the Pacific.
洪阿湯加·洪阿哈阿帕伊位于“火山帶”內，這是一條環繞太平洋的地質斷層線。
Tongans call the islands afflicted by the region's frequent earthquakes those which "jump back and forth".
湯加人稱受該地區頻繁地震影響的島嶼叫“反復跳躍島”。
The volcano is 1,800 metres tall (measured from the sea floor) and takes its name from the two parts of the rim of its crater, or caldera, which, before the latest blast at least, rose above the sea: Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai.
這座火山高1800米（從海底測量，至少在最近的一次爆炸之前，火山口曾高出海面），因其火山口邊緣的兩個部分而得名：洪阿湯加和洪阿哈阿帕伊。
Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at Auckland University, reckons that the latest eruption probably came from the caldera itself.
奧克蘭大學的火山學家沙恩·克羅寧認為，最近的一次噴發可能來自火山口本身。
An eruption in December 2014 filled the gap between the volcano's two islands with ash, joining them.
2014年12月的一次火山噴發用火山灰填補了火山兩個島嶼之間的空隙，將它們連接在一起。
"The island's formation also probably seeded its destruction," says James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.
美國宇航局戈達德航天飛行中心首席科學家詹姆斯·加文說：“該島的形成可能也是其毀滅的種子?！?/p>
"As it rose from the sea, layers of liquid magma filled a network of chambers beneath it."
“當它從海上噴發升起時，一層層的液態巖漿填滿了它下面網狀的巖漿洞室?！?/p>
When the magma in those chambers erupted on January 15th, the vast explosion in the seas and skies seems to have been coupled with an implosion in the rocks below as some of those chambers collapsed, undermining the caldera and its rim.
當這些巖漿在1月15日噴發時，海洋和天空中的巨大爆炸似乎伴隨著下面巖石的內爆，其中一些洞室坍塌，破壞了火山口及其邊緣。
Satellite images now show that only a chunk of one of the former islands remains visible.
衛星圖像現在顯示，只有一塊以前的島嶼是可見的。
The true number of deaths among the country's 100,000 people is unknown.
該國10萬人的真實死亡人數尚不清楚。
So is the extent of damage to crops, villages and livelihoods.
農作物、村莊和生計的破壞程度也不清楚。
Communication with Tonga was possible only by satellite phone initially; the submarine cable that connects it to Fiji and thence to the outside world was severed.
最初只能通過衛星電話與湯加通信；接著，連接斐濟和外界的海底電纜被切斷。
Repairs could take weeks as the closest repair vessel is 2,500km away.
由于最近的維修船與之相距2500公里，維修可能需要數周時間。
Flights in and out of Tonga were suspended at first, owing to ash on the international airport's runway.
起初，由于國際機場跑道上的火山灰，進出湯加的航班暫停。
Flights carrying aid are now arriving.
現在，載有救援物資的航班已經抵達。
New Zealand and Australia have sent surveillance flights over the archipelago to assess the damage.
新西蘭和澳大利亞已經在群島上空派出了監視航班，以評估損失。
Reports suggest that roads and bridges have been destroyed, though the airport is intact.
報告顯示，盡管機場完好無損，但道路和橋梁已被摧毀。
Grim satellite images show heaps of ash smothering entire islands.
凄涼的衛星圖像顯示，成堆的火山灰籠罩著整個島嶼。
Emergency workers are handing out food, water and tents, according to the prime minister's office.
根據總理辦公室的消息，緊急救援人員正在分發食物、水和帳篷。
Water is particularly vital: many Tongans capture fresh rainwater from their roofs to drink.
水尤其重要：許多湯加人從屋頂收集新鮮雨水飲用。
Ash has probably contaminated it.
但是火山灰可能污染了雨水。
Navy ships carrying aid from Australia and New Zealand are on the way.
載有澳大利亞和新西蘭援助物資的海軍艦艇正在途中。
The hope is they do not also carry covid-19.
希望他們沒有攜帶新冠病毒。
Tonga's only case so far was caught at its border; one disaster must not lead to another.
湯加迄今為止唯一的一例是在其邊境被抓獲的；不要一波未平一波又起。
