Residents of the South Pacific nation of Tonga are experiencing a total Internet shutdown after an underwater cable which connects the island to the rest of the world was severed, possibly by the anchor of a large ship. A ship from nearby Samoa will be sent out to fix the severed cable within the next week, and in the meantime, a satellite dish has been set up in the country's capital of Nuku’alofa. MALAYSIA ELECTS NEW KING AFTER SHOCKING ABDICATION OF FORMER RULERThe severed cable connects Tonga to trans-Pacific Internet wires at Suva in Fiji, which is the sole source of connectivity for Tonga's population of about 100,000. It was reportedly severed in two spots, about 6.2 miles off of Tonga's coast, according to Paula Piveni Piukala, the director of the cable owner Tonga Cable Ltd.Tonga is an archipelago comprised of 169 islands, many of which are uninhabited. Katie Silcock, the general manager of Scenic Hotel Tonga, says that residents have an overall mindset of, "It will be fixed when it's fixed."

Source: Fox News January 24, 2019 19:52 UTC