The Caritas organization of Australia is providing immediate assistance to the people affected by the volcanic eruption
Selvaraj Soosamanikkam, Vatican
The Australian Caritas organization said on Tuesday, January 18, that an underwater volcanic eruption last Saturday, January 15, had covered the entire Tonga region of Australia with ash and caused a tsunami.
As a result, all telecommunications have been cut off and the use of drinking water has been severely polluted, the Caritas organization in Australia said.
With more than 104,000 people living in Tonga, 70 percent of them live on the main island of Tongatapu, and the Tongan government has said it needs immediate assistance to deal with the devastating effects of the eruption.
In Tonga, which relies solely on groundwater, volcanic ash and saltwater intrusion from tsunami waves have polluted water supplies, severely affecting the people living here, said Damaris Pfendt, coordinator of the Caritas Pacific Humanitarian Organization of Australia.
In addition, the Caritas organization of Australia, which is aware of Tonga’s vulnerability and provides immediate assistance to the affected people, said it was trying to liaise with its subsidiary in Tonga to assess the situation on the ground and determine the most urgent needs.
According to some reports from Tonga, which has 169 islands 805 kilometers southwest of Fiji, southwest of the Pacific Ocean, between Australia and South America, there is an urgent need for new drinking water and shelter for people displaced by the tsunami.