Citizens in the island nation of Tonga continue to reel from the 15-metre tsunami caused due to the eruption in the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano last week. The Tongan government called the natural disaster ‘unprecedented’. According to reports by news agencies, at least three people have died and one village has been wiped out due to the tsunami.
The government said that Mango village was completely destroyed in the tsunami. Three of those dead were also in Mango village. While one of them, a 65-year-old woman, was a resident and two others, one British national Angela Glover and a 49-year-old man, were confirmed dead by the Tongan authorities, according to news agency AFP.
Last week’s eruption in the undersea Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano triggered a tsunami after sending plumes of smoke, gas, ash and debris 20km into the sky, causing several geostationary satellites to capture striking images and videos of the event.
News agencies also reported that ash is being cleaned from the main island of Tongatapu. According to a report by the BBC, good progress was made later and officials hoped that it could pave the way for international flights to land. Images from Planet Labs PBC accessed by news agency BBC showed that thick ash continued to engulf several islands and also showed the large-scale destruction leading to removal of settlements on some islands.
Evacuation efforts from other islands are underway and efforts are on to restore the undersea cable connecting Tonga to the rest of the world. An AFP report said that communication to the outer islands was limited to satellite phones and radio. The government was also working with the UN and the international agencies to restore clean water supply to its residents.
Neighbouring Australia and New Zealand, which also felt volcanic eruptions, will send ships dispatching aid to the disaster-struck island. New Zealand defence minister Peeni Henare told the BBC that ships carrying aid will reach Tonga in the coming 2-3 days.
“It takes approximately three to four days to sail up to Tonga, and they’ll have large provisions of water, food and medical supplies,” Hanare was quoted as saying by news agency BBC.
The UN also remains concerned about Tonga’s Covid-free status as it fears aid may bring the virus along with it. Tonga recorded its first case of Covid earlier in October.
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