The Tongan government said in its first update after the tragedy on Tuesday that an entire village on one of Tonga’s small remote islands was wiped out by a tsunami following a massive volcanic eruption on Saturday, killing at least three people. Stated.
The tsunami killed three people: a 65-year-old woman on Mango Island, a 49-year-old man on Nomuka Island, and Angela Glover on the main island of Tongatapu and a 50-year-old Briton. Discovered on Monday. Glover was reported missing after being hit by a tsunami while trying to rescue the dog.
The tsunami destroyed all the houses on Mango Island, leaving only two in Phonoifua, but Namka suffered “great damage.” statement Released by the Consulate of Twitter.
On the western side of Tongatapu Island, 56 homes were damaged in some areas. Several houses on Kolomotu’a and’Eua islands were also damaged.
The Tongan Navy was deployed with a health team to deliver water, food and tents to the island. More aid was dispatched on Tuesday due to serious damage to Mango, Phonoifua and Namka islands.
According to the government, evacuation was carried out on the affected islands, including parts of Atata and Tongatapu, and “many” injuries were reported.
Communication with the remote islands was restored only on Monday after the Australian and New Zealand governments dispatched surveillance flights to the Pacific Islands.
Most of the local telephone system has been restored on Tongatapu and’Eua, but communication with residents of Vava’u and Haapai is limited and internet services remain down.
“We haven’t communicated with Niuas yet. The Niuas Islands are considered low risk due to their relative distance to the Hunga Tonga Hunga Haapai volcano,” he added.
These are some of the first images from # Tonga, Shows the effects of a violent volcanic eruption. It shows the Pacific island nations before and after being covered with ash.
Scientists are working to assess the environmental impact and how long the damage will last. pic.twitter.com/joMxivgnEN
— Pattrn (@pattrn) January 18, 2022
Meanwhile, the United Nations said Wednesday that it may not send personnel to Tonga to work in remote areas and avoid the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Tonga is one of the few countries freed from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus (commonly known as the new coronavirus). Since the start of the pandemic involving travelers from New Zealand, the country has reported only one case of infection.
“We believe we can send flights with supplies. Fiji-based UN coordinator Jonathan Vichi said at a press conference,” Whether we can send flights with personnel. I don’t know, because Tonga has a very strict COVID-free policy. “
A small island nation with just over 100,000 people accounts for 90% of immunization rates in both adults and young people over the age of 12, Veitch said.
“They were very cautious about opening borders like many Pacific islands, and that’s because of the history of disease outbreaks in the Pacific that wiped out society here,” he added.
Parliamentary Speaker Sir Fakafanua said on a satellite phone Monday that Tonga needs safe assistance with COVID to ensure adequate fresh drinking water and food.he Said Details of Tonga’s official disaster relief fund will be announced shortly, and all relief funds will be validated “to ensure that the kindly provided support reaches those in need.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Aldgra Fredly is a Malaysia-based freelance writer featuring the Epoch Times Asia Pacific News.