Modeling shows likely new volcano eruptions near Tonga

Further eruptions from the volcano near Tonga are likely in the coming days or weeks, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in an update on Tuesday.

The ministry said the estimate was based on modeling the volcano’s future activity by GNS Science, a New Zealand geological research institute.

“The most likely scenario is that there will be continuous eruptions over the next few days or weeks, with a consequent tsunami risk for Tonga and New Zealand,” he said.

The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano last Saturday sent a plume of ash, gas and steam into the air, and sent tsunami waves thousands of kilometers into the Pacific.

Waves of up to 15 meters high washed over the western coast of Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu, and the islands of ‘Eua and Ha’api, inundating roads and coastal properties, the prime minister’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. at night.

In an update, New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry said communications systems in Tonga continued to experience problems after damage to an undersea cable cut off international and inter-island calls. countries.

The folder added that Digicel, an international mobile phone network provider, created a temporary system in Tongatapu using a satellite dish from the University of the South Pacific, which could restore limited 2G connections. However, he said, this connection “will be limited and fragmented.”

The first images of damage from volcanoes in Tonga show entire communities covered in ash.

An initial assessment by the Tongan authorities is that 100 houses were damaged and 50 were destroyed in Tongatapu, a UN spokesperson told CNN. There are no open evacuation centers in Tongatapu, and most displaced people are staying with relatives.

On the island of ‘Eua, 89 people are in evacuation centers, the spokesman said.