DThree days after the massive volcanic eruption and the resulting tsunami, the government of the Pacific island nation addressed the outside world for the first time. The government of Tonga spoke of an “unprecedented disaster” in a statement on Tuesday. She initially confirmed three fatalities and an undetermined number of injuries. The dead are a British citizen, a 65-year-old woman from Mango Island and a 49-year-old man from Nomuka Island. The first confirmed death was the 50-year-old Briton. She had run a dog charity in Tonga, according to her family. A wave caught her when she wanted to save some of the dogs with her husband. Her husband held on to a tree, but the woman was pulled into the sea.
It is feared that the death toll could rise. According to the government, the disaster has caused severe damage to some of the archipelago’s more than 170 islands. The aerial photos released by the New Zealand military on Tuesday give a first impression of this. They show islands and coasts on which a gray-black landscape now stretches instead of green vegetation. The photos were taken on Monday by the crew of a New Zealand P-3K 2 Orion military aircraft. They look like they have been processed with a sepia filter. According to eyewitnesses, a two centimeter thick layer of ash has settled over the main island of Tongatapu. The air patrols also reported severe damage to the west coast of Tongatapu. According to the government, 21 houses were completely destroyed and 35 houses were severely destroyed.
According to the UN Emergency Relief Office (OCHA), at least 50 houses were destroyed and 100 badly damaged. Some of the smaller islands were also affected more severely than the main island. All houses on Mango and on the island of Fonoifua all but two houses were destroyed. The island of Nomuka was also partially devastated. There, the UN agency UNOSAT concluded from satellite images that 41 of the 104 visible houses were damaged. Aid organizations have expressed particular concern about the situation on the contactless Ha’apai archipelago, which also includes Mango and Fonoifua. The residents of the affected areas should now be brought to safety.
According to aid organizations, the lack of communication with the island state remains a major challenge. As the government confirmed, the Internet and telephone connections abroad had completely collapsed. Telephone calls are only possible domestically on the main island of Tongatapu and a neighboring island. Nevertheless, it was possible to contact the outer islands by sending patrol boats. According to OCHA, the situation in the capital Nuku’alofa is stable. Residents have started cleaning up. The island’s airport will be cleaned of ash. The condition of the runway currently apparently prevents the landing of aid transports. In New Zealand, a C-130 Hercules military aircraft is ready to deliver water tanks, generators and toiletries to Tonga. In addition, New Zealand wants to send two naval vessels with drinking water and relief supplies. In Brisbane in eastern Australia, the military ship HMAS Adelaide is to be loaded with relief supplies and also continue towards Tonga.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that New Zealand will do everything it can to support the relief efforts. In the remote island state, however, there are fears that the coronavirus could also be brought in with the aid deliveries. Tonga is considered free of Covid-19. A Tonga diplomat stationed in Australia expressed concern that the relief effort could bring the virus to the island. “We don’t want to bring another wave with us – a Covid-19 tsunami,” he told Reuters.
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