International aid to the islands in the Tonga Archipelago hampered by volcanic ash, volunteers have been ‘sweeping’ the airport runway in hopes that planes bringing food, water, and medical supplies can land. The only communication cable to the region was severed during the eruption. Inter-island cables were also severed. Settlements on many islands have vanished, confirms satellite imagery. Residents are likely breathing in volcanic ash. Three deaths have been verified. More are likely. The UN is preparing steps to keep the islands that have been covid free to stay that way when life-saving supplies finally reach the suffering people of Tonga.
There are scared and worried populations of Tongan diaspora in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
- A 65-year-old woman, a 49-year-old man and British woman Angela Glover were killed in the tsunami. A number of injuries have also been reported
- Dozens of houses on the main island of Tongatapu were also damaged
- Evacuations from the worst-hit islands are under way
- Water supplies have been "seriously affected" by the volcanic ash
- Flights have been temporarily halted and sea transport routes are disrupted
Such is the damage to communications networks, the World Health Organization said a lone official had been channelling information between UN agencies and the Tongan government using a satellite phone.
Many Tongans abroad have been waiting since Saturday's eruption to hear news from loved ones.
Meanwhile, the UN said it would try to maintain Tonga's Covid-free status when aid starts arriving.
Ecological devastation near Lima, Peru caused by waves from the eruption.
Clouds of SO2 has reached Australia and the Indian ocean. If it rains, the acid would harm or kill vegetation.
Miraculously severe damage from the tsunami on Tonga’s population center was not as devastating as feared as wave height was only 2.5 feet high. Smaller islands had their settlements washed away entirely.
But on the main island of Tongatapu, at least, life is slowly returning to normal. The tsunami that swept over coastal areas after the eruption was frightening for many but rose only about 80 centimeters (2.7 feet), allowing most to escape.
“We did hold grave fears, given the magnitude of what we saw in that unprecedented blast,” said Katie Greenwood, the head of delegation in the Pacific for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. “Fortunately, in those major population centers we are not seeing the catastrophic effect we thought might happen, and that’s very good news.”
Greenwood, who is based in Fiji and has been talking with people in Tonga by satellite phone, said an estimated 50 homes were destroyed on Tongatapu but that nobody needed to use emergency shelters. She said about 90 people on the nearby island of ’Eua were using shelters.
U.N. humanitarian officials and Tonga’s government has reported “significant infrastructural damage” around Tongatapu.
“There has been no contact from the Ha’apai Group of islands, and we are particularly concerned about two small low-lying islands — Mango and Fonoi — following surveillance flights confirming substantial property damage,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
New Zealand’s High Commission in Tonga also reported significant damage along the western coast of Tongatapu, including to resorts and the waterfront area.
Like other island nations in the Pacific, Tonga is regularly exposed to the extremes of nature, whether it be cyclones or earthquakes, making people more resilient to the challenges they bring.
The eruption will have little effect on the climate because minimal SO2 and ash spewed into the atmosphere.