The small outer islands suffered massive damage from a massive volcanic eruption and Tsunami. The fears of more deaths and injuries have increased. New Zealand Defence Force has released alarming images that show an entire village being destroyed on Mango Island. Various buildings have gone missing on Atata island as per the reports by a Tongan diplomat.
Curtis Tu’ihalangie, Tonga’s deputy head of mission reported that people were panicking and running around which led to more injuries. There is a possibility of more deaths. As of now, the death toll is at 2 as told by the Tonga police to the New Zealand High Commission. Because of the cut in the communications with the South Pacific Island Nation, the real number of casualties is not clear.
Zed Seselja, the Australian Minister for the pacific said that the officials of Tonga were hoping to evacuate people from the Ha’apai island groups and the other island groups as well. The conditions were very tough as a lot of houses got destroyed in the tsunami in the low-lying islands. A distress signal was detected by the United Nation in Ha’apai where the Mango island is located. The area was hit by massive waves reaching up to 5-10 meters in height as per the reports of the Tongan Navy.
The islands of Atata and Manga are around 50 and 70 kilometers away from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano which is responsible for transmitting the Tsunami waves in the Pacific Ocean. The waves were heard around 1430 miles away in New Zealand when the volcano erupted on Saturday. The situation is very critical and the images posted by the NZDF on Facebook showed the use of tarpaulins being used as a shelter on the islands.
The New Zealand High Commission reported that the islands are covered with a thick layer of ash and the major priority of the government is to establish communication with the islands to provide aid. Fua’amotu International Airport which is the main airport of the archipelago has not been damaged but the Tsunami and the heavy ash are haltering the full operations. The runway would take days to be cleared according to the U.N. Humanitarian office.
The government of Tongo is estimated to request help from Australia and New Zealand tomorrow. Both these countries have their C-130 military aircraft on standby fully packed with emergency supplies which is the biggest priority as of now.
The island that is home to around 104,494 people is an archipelago of 176 islands, 36 of which are inhabited. The condition is still messy even after three days of the eruption. Hopefully, the people will get the emergency supplies soon and communications will be restored.
