![]() He said there is still “very limited, if any” information coming from the outer islands. The main undersea communications cable has also been impacted, likely due to loss of power.Īustralia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, said there was “significant property damage” in Tonga, including to roads and houses. “Shops along the coast have been damaged and a significant cleanup will be needed,” she said. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on January 16 that tsunami waves had a “significant impact” on Nuku’alofa, with boats and large boulders washed ashore. #Surpac cutting planes full#He said “many areas” had been affected by “substantial volcanic ashfall” but “the full extent of the harm to lives and property is currently unknown.” An undersea volcano erupted in spectacular fashion near the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday, sending large waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground. Tonga “needs immediate assistance to provide its citizens with fresh drinking water and food,” the country’s Speaker of the House Lord Fakafanua said in a statement posted to social media. There have been no reports so far of mass casualties in Tonga and the extent of the damage remains unknown as communications - particularly on the outlying islands - have not yet been reestablished. “The large and explosive lateral spread of the eruption suggests that it was probably the biggest one since about the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo,” Cronin said. “This is an eruption best witnessed from space,” Cronin said, according to Reuters. Credit: LACW Emma Schwenke /Royal Australian Air ForceĮarly data suggests the volcanic eruption was the biggest since the 1991 blast at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, New Zealand-based volcanologist Shane Cronin told Radio New Zealand. A Royal Australian Air Force P-8 Poseidon aircraft departs RAAF Base Amberley. Several flights from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji to Tonga were postponed due to the ash cloud. The ash prevented an Australian reconnaissance flight from departing to assess the damage in the early hours of January 17, though the flight did take off later that morning. “If you noticed a particularly stunning sunrise, it was the sunlight being scattered by #Volcanic ash from the eruption over in #Tonga,” Queensland’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Twitter. ![]() By Monday it had reached Australia’s Queensland, according to the state’s meteorological service. The ash cloud was drifting westwards and was visible over Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia on Sunday. Save the Children said drinking water supplies could be contaminated by the ash and smoke and the immediate concern in Tonga is for air and water safety. What is happening with the ash cloud?Ī giant volcanic ash cloud blanketed Tonga over the weekend, turning the afternoon sky dark and coating Nuku’alofa in a thick foam of volcanic dust on Saturday. Tsunami waves were felt in California, Alaska and Hawaii. The eruption also sent waves to the US West Coast, according to the National Weather Service office in San Diego. By Sunday afternoon, all tsunami advisories had been lifted in Japan. In Japan, the northeastern prefecture of Iwate saw waves as high as 2.7 metres and multiple smaller tsunamis were reported in numerous other locations, according to public broadcaster NHK. Tsunami warnings and advisories were also issued from parts of Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Peru, to the United States and Canada’s British Columbia. British expat Angela Glover's body was located by her husband after she was swept away. ![]()
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