現今，海底電纜已是全球化和全球通訊的基石。百萬公里的海底電纜環繞全球，提供各大洲之間的網際網路和通訊連線。這一關鍵基礎設施遭破壞或中斷，可能會對當地、區域甚至全球造成災難性後果。這正是火山、海嘯等災難後湯加所發生的事情。
The Tonga volcanic eruption has revealed the vulnerabilities in our global telecommunication system
In the wake of a violent volcanic eruption in Tonga， much of the communication with residents on the islands remains at a standstill。 In our modern， highly-connected world， more than 95 per cent of global data transfer occurs along fibre-optic cables that criss-cross through the world’s oceans。
在南太平洋島國湯加發生猛烈的火山噴發後，島上居民的大部分通訊處於停滯狀態。在我們這個高度互聯的現代世界中，超過 95% 的全球資料傳輸是透過穿越海底的縱橫交錯的光纜進行的。
Breakage or interruption to this critical infrastructure can have catastrophic local， regional and even global consequences。 This is exactly what has happened in Tonga following Saturday’s volcano-tsunami disaster。 But this isn’t the first time a natural disaster has cut off critical submarine cables， and it won’t be the last。
對這一關鍵基礎設施的破壞或中斷可能會對當地、區域甚至全球造成災難性後果。而這種後果正是此次湯加遭受火山海嘯災難後所要經歷的又一個衝擊。但這不是自然災害第一次切斷重要的海底電纜，也不會是最後一次。
What exactly has happened in Tonga?
湯加海底電纜到底怎麼了？
Tonga was only connected to the global submarine telecommunication network in the last decade。 Its islands have been heavily reliant on this system as it is more stable than other technologies such as satellite and fixed infrastructure。
湯加在過去十年才連線到全球海底電信網路。該島國嚴重依賴海底電纜通訊系統，因為它比衛星和固定基礎設施等其他技術更穩定。
The situation in Tonga right now is still fluid， and certain details have yet to be confirmed – but it seems one or more volcanic processes （such as the tsunami， submarine landslide or other underwater currents） have snapped the 872km long fibre-optic cable connecting Tonga to the rest of the world。 The cable system was not switched off or disconnected by the authorities。
湯加目前的情況仍然不穩定，某些細節還有待證實。但湯加連線世界其他國家和地區的關鍵——一條長872公里海底電纜——似乎被一個或多個火山活動（如海嘯、海底滑坡或其他水下洋流）切斷了。
This has had a massive impact。 Tongans living in Australia and New Zealand can’t contact their loved ones to check on them。 It has also made it difficult for Tongan government officials and emergency services to communicate with each other， and for local communities to determine aid and recovery needs。
這個故障造成的影響是巨大的。居住在澳大利亞和紐西蘭的湯加人無法聯絡到他們的親人瞭解他們的情況。這也使湯加政府官員和緊急服務部門難以相互溝通，當地社群也難以確定救助需求。
Telecommunications are down， as are regular internet functions – and outages keep disrupting online services， making things worse。 Tonga is particularly vulnerable to this type of disruption as there is only one cable connecting the capital Nuku‘alofa to Fiji， which is more than 800km away。 No inter-island cables exist。
海底網路電纜和電話訊號中斷，網際網路訊號亦如此，這嚴重影響了其線上服務，使情況變得更糟。湯加特別容易受到這類干擾的影響，因為湯加首都努庫阿洛法和800 多公里外的斐濟只有一條電纜連線，而兩島間沒有其他電纜連線。
Risks to submarine cables elsewhere
海底電纜風險不只湯加有
Cables are laid in the shortest （that means cheapest） distance between two points on the Earth’s surface。 They also have to be laid along particular geographic locations that allow easy placement， which is why many cables are clustered in choke points。
電纜鋪設在地球表面兩點之間最短的距離內，這麼做是因為成本較低。它們還必須沿著便於放置的特定地理位置鋪設，這就是許多電纜聚集在一些“咽喉要道”的原因。
Some good examples of choke points include the Hawaiian islands， the Suez Canal， Guam and the Sunda Strait in Indonesia。 Inconveniently， these are also locations where major natural hazards tend to occur。
處於這些“咽喉要道”的地方如夏威夷群島、蘇伊士運河、關島和印度尼西亞的舜達海峽。但麻煩的是，這些地區也往往是重大自然災害發生的地方。
Once damaged it can take days to weeks （or even longer） to repair broken cables， depending on the cable’s depth and how easily accessible it is。 At times of crisis， such outages make it much harder for governments， emergency services and charities to engage in recovery efforts。
一旦被損壞，人們可能需要幾天到幾周，甚至更長的時間來修復電纜，這取決於電纜的深度和容易接近的程度。在危機時刻，這樣的停電使政府、緊急服務機構和慈善機構更難參與相關恢復工作。
Many of these undersea cables pass close to or directly over active volcanoes， regions impacted by tropical cyclones and/or active earthquake zones。
其中許多海底電纜靠近活火山或直接經過活火山，活火山是受熱帶氣旋和/或活躍地震區影響的地區。
In many ways， Australia and New Zealand are also very vulnerable （as is the rest of the world）。 Australia is connected to the global cable network by a very small number of connection points， from just Sydney and Perth。
不僅是湯加，就連澳大利亞、紐西蘭等國家和地區的海底電纜也都十分脆弱（世界其他地區也是如此）。例如澳大利亞只從悉尼和珀斯兩地透過極少數連線點連線到全球通訊網路。
In regards to Sydney and the eastern seaboard of Australia， we know large underwater landslides have occurred off the coast of Sydney in the past。 Future events could damage the critical portion of the network which links to us。
此前悉尼海岸曾發生過大型水下山體滑坡。未來，類似事件也很有可能破壞當地網路的關鍵“大動脈”。
How do we manage risk going forward?
如何管理未來的風險？
Given the vulnerability of the network， the first step to mitigating risk is to undertake research to quantify and evaluate the actual risk to submarine cables in particular places on the ocean floors and to different types of natural hazards。 For example， tropical cyclones （hurricanes/typhoons） occur regularly， but other disaster such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen less often。
鑑於海底電纜通訊網路的脆弱性，降低風險的第一步是進行研究，以量化和評估海底電纜對於海底特定地方和不同型別自然災害的實際風險。例如，熱帶氣旋（颶風/颱風）經常發生，但地震和火山噴發等其他災害發生的頻率較低。
Currently， there is little publicly available data on the risk to the global submarine cable network。 Once we know which cables are vulnerable， and to what sorts of hazards， we can then develop plans to reduce risk。
目前，有關全球海底電纜網路面臨風險的公開資料很少。一旦瞭解了哪些電纜易受攻擊，以及哪些危險型別易受影響，各國就可以制定降低風險的計劃。
At the same time， governments and the telecommunication companies should find ways to diversify the way we communicate， such as by using more satellite-based systems and other technologies。
與此同時，政府和電信公司應該想方設法確保通訊方式多樣化，例如透過使用更多的基於衛星的系統和其他技術，從而減少對海底電纜通訊系統的依賴。
