Photo taken the day before the massive volcanic eruption that caused the tsunami
New Zealand has dispatched a reconnaissance aircraft to assess the damage caused by an underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga, an island nation in the South Pacific.
The eruption covered islands in the Pacific with ash, cut power and cut communications.
According to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), 80,000 of Tonga’s 100,000 inhabitants may have been affected.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the tsunami had caused “severe damage”. He also explained that the water supply was contaminated with volcanic ash and needed bottled water.
However, no deaths have been reported so far. Due to the lack of information, New Zealand and Australia are conducting reconnaissance flights to determine the extent of the damage.
The New Zealand Defense Ministry (NZDF) said on Twitter that “reconnaissance planes have been dispatched to assist with initial impact assessments in the area and low-lying islands.”
Katie Greenwood, head of the Pacific delegation at IFRC, said that help was urgently needed.
He said, “This explosion shocked people, and there is concern about damage to the outer island.
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Satellite image of Tonga volcanic eruption
Peter Lund, acting High Commissioner for New Zealand in Tonga, said the island nation “looks like the surface of the moon” after it was covered with volcanic ash.
Authorities have instructed people to drink bottled water and wear masks to protect their lungs, according to aid charities.
As the sky darkened to ashes, video footage was captured of people in the lowlands escaping in cars. There were also traffic jams. Hours later, Tonga’s internet and phone lines went down, losing contact with 105,000 islanders.
Even before the massive eruption, the volcano continued to erupt for several days. The Tonga Meteorological Agency has warned that odors of sulfur and ammonia are being reported in some areas.
Ardern said power is being restored in parts of the island and cell phones are slowly starting to work again. However, the situation in some coastal areas is unknown.
Tongans living in Australia and New Zealand are concerned about their safety as they have lost contact with relatives and friends.
A Tongan named Fatima said he had not heard of anything from a colleague who ran a restaurant off the coast of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga.
“All this is very sad, I just hope things aren’t bad,” he told the BBC.
“The impact of this incident will be severe as Tonga has been in lockdown and blocking tourists for a long time,” he said.
Satellite images show that some of the islands are completely submerged.
Experts describe the eruption of Hunga’s Hapai volcano as one of the most violent eruptions in the region in decades.
A tsunami warning has been issued in some countries, including Japan and the United States, and flooding has occurred in some coastal areas of California and Alaska.
Satellite images show that some remote islands are completely submerged.
Experts say the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hapai volcano is one of the most violent in the region in decades.
Tsunami warnings have been issued in some countries, including Japan and the United States, and some coastal areas in California and Alaska have experienced flooding.
British Foreign Minister Jack Goldsmith said the situation in Tonga was “shocking” and that “the British government is ready to help and support our friends and partners in the Commonwealth in whatever way we can.”
Research into the cause of the tsunami that caused waves on nearby islands and beaches around the Pacific Ocean is expected to begin.
To what extent did the explosion act as a driving force for the tsunami? Pressure waves often cause ‘weather tsunamis (a phenomenon in which seawater temporarily or locally becomes extremely high due to a tropical cyclone over the ocean or a cyclone outside the tropics, or a gust of wind)’.
Although the movement of seawater is not visible, it may have been the result of the collapse of some of the volcanoes below the sea surface. As more data emerges in the future, more facts will come to light.
