Image source, TONGA GEOLOGICAL SERVICES
New Zealand has sent a plane to the Pacific island of Tonga to assess the damage following a tsunami caused by a major volcanic eruption.
The Pacific islands are covered in ash due to this volcanic eruption. Electricity is cut off in Tonga. Communication facilities are also not functioning.
Aggressive tsunami waves hit Peru, Chile and Fiji. Seawater infiltrated coastal areas.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Confederation of Red Cross (IFRC) have told the BBC that up to 80,000 people could be affected in Tonga.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinta Artern has said the tsunami caused “significant damage”.
No casualties have been reported so far, however.
Not enough information is available from the affected areas. New Zealand and Australia have sent surveillance planes to assess the extent of the damage.
The New Zealand Defense Forces posted on Twitter that a plane had taken off “to assess the impact of the lower islands”.
“We suspect that up to 80,000 people across Tonga may have been affected by volcanic eruptions, tsunamis or volcanic eruptions,” said Kathy Greenwood of the Red Cross.
An underwater volcano erupted on Saturday. This was followed by a warning that 1.2 m (4 ft) of waves would hit Tonga. The eruption was the loudest in New Zealand, about 2,383 kilometers from Tonga.
Peter Lund, New Zealand’s ambassador to Tonga, said Tonga was “like the moon” after the volcanic ash layer closed.
Jacinta said the drinking water supply was affected due to the dust.
Due to the ash people have to drink bottled water and wear masks to protect their lungs.
Image source, CONSULATE OF THE KINGDOM OF TONGA
People tried to escape by car from low-lying areas as the ash was covered. As a result, videos of traffic jams in many areas have spread on the Internet.
About 1,05,000 people living on the island of Tonga are inaccessible.
Prior to the eruption, the volcano had been erupting for several days. The Tonga Meteorological Agency had warned of the smell of sulfur and ammonia in some areas.
Jacinta Artern said power was being restored in some parts of the island and mobile phones were slowly starting to work again. But the situation in some coastal areas is not yet known.
Tongoans in Australia and New Zealand have expressed concern about not being able to talk to their friends and family.
Fatima said she could not contact her friend who runs a seafood restaurant in Noku Aloba, the capital of Tonga.
Satellite images show some outlying islands completely submerged by seawater.
Experts say the eruption of the Hanga-Tonga Hanga-Ha’boi volcano is one of the most intense in decades.
The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. There, seawater inundated some coastal areas of California and Alaska.
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