Tonga news - live: Three dead and homes destroyed as scale of volcano eruption damage emerges
Relief efforts by Australia and New Zealand are hampered by heavy ash across the country’s airport runways and little communication
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Your support makes all the difference.Three people are confirmed dead in Tonga - including one British national - and all homes on one island have been destroyed, says the government after an underwater volcanic eruption and tsunami on Saturday devastated the Polynesian country.
Telecommunication bosses say the islands could be cut off from the world for weeks, after an undersea cable was severed and the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai volcano left the country covered in ash.
Fears of a possible humanitarian crisis developing in Tonga are growing as details of the damage of Saturday’s natural disaster are learned.
Samiuela Fonua, the chairperson of the state-owned Tonga Cable Ltd which owns and operates the cable, told the Guardian that repair operations to fix the damage could take two weeks but warned of the threat of continuing volcanic activity to efforts, which would need to enter the Tongatapu waters close to the site of the eruption.
New Zealand and Australia have conducted surveillance flights to assess the damage with images revealing Tonga covered in a blanket of ash, hampering relief efforts as the nation’s airport runways are also compromised.
New Zealand’s Acting High Commissioner to Tonga, Peter Lund, said the local government had declared a state of emergency.
Images show a ‘blanket of ash’ covering the island
Surveillance images from the New Zealand Defence Force have shown a ‘blanket of ash’ covering Tonga as details of the damage begin to emerge.
Aid agencies have warned that volcanic dust and the tsunami may have contaminated Tonga’s water supplies while New Zealand foreign affairs minister Nanaia Mahuta added that “water is among the highest priorities for Tonga at this stage”.
Ash on airport runway blocking New Zealand relief efforts
Images from New Zealand’s surveillance of the damage have shown a blanket of ash covering much of Tonga including the capital's main airport runway, hampering relief efforts.
New Zealand foreign affairs minister Nanaia Mahuta said a C-130 Hercules aircraft was on standby to fly to Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa to deliver humanitarian aid including collapsible water containers, generators and hygiene kits.
“However images show ashfall on the Nuku'alofa airport runway that must be cleared before (the plane) can land,” she said.
On Monday about 200 Tongans had started sweeping the runway yesterday, successfully clearing a 100m (330ft) stretch of tarmac, but there remained “a long way to go”, according to 1News reporter Barbara Dreaver.
Tonga could be ‘cut off for weeks’ say telecommunication bosses
Tonga could be cut off from the world for weeks, telecommunication bosses on the island have said after the eruption and tsunami damaged a critical undersea cable.
Samiuela Fonua, the chairperson of the state-owned Tonga Cable Ltd which owns and operates the cable, told the Guardian that repair operations to fix the damage could take two weeks but warned of the threat of continuing volcanic activity to efforts which would need to enter the Tongatapu waters close to the site of the eruption.
“We are just going through our preparations for the repair operation to start possibly next week,” he told the Guardian. “With luck we can have our cable ready within the next two weeks.
“The main concern now is with the volcanic activities because our cables are pretty much on the same zone.”
Read the full story here:
Tonga could be cut off for weeks after eruption damaged undersea cable
Further volcanic activity could threaten efforts to repair Tonga’s only international communications cable
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the aftermath of Saturday’s Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption just off Tonga.
We’ll be bringing you the latest updates from the island and the surrounding South Pacific region.
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