Tonga: Troubleshoots Telecommunications – No Victims Reported

LAST UPDATE: 09:23

Extreme levels of flood danger were announced in many parts of Tonga, in the South Pacific island nation, where telephone lines and internet connections were badly damaged and relatives in remote New Zealand prayed for their families. of the area as no casualties have been reported yet.

An underwater volcano erupted in Tonga, prompting a 1.2-meter tsunami alert and evacuation instructions for the Tongan coast and several South Pacific islands, and social media images showed large waves hitting coastal homes.

Telephone lines and internet connection were cut off at around 6.40 p.m. local time on Saturday, making it virtually impossible to communicate with the 105,000 inhabitants of the island country.

There have been no official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga so far, although communication is still limited and has not yet been restored to coastal areas outside the capital Nuqualofa, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference today.

Tonga, an island nation with a population of about 105,000, is located 2,383 kilometers northeast of New Zealand.

“Nuqualofa is covered in dense volcanic ash clouds – beyond that, conditions are calm,” Ardern said. “We have not yet received information from other coastal areas,” he said.

In New Zealand, concerns are growing among citizens trying to reach their families in Tonga. In some churches in Auckland and other cities, worshipers prayed for the safety of their families.

According to Ardern, electricity has been restored in some areas of the islands and mobile phones are gradually starting to work again.

So far there are no official estimates for damage, according to the prime minister. However, Arnard said the New Zealand High Commission in Nuqualofa said the tsunami had damaged ships, shops and other infrastructure.

An Australian government spokesman said there were no immediate assessments yet but that Australia was ready to offer support to Tonga if requested.

The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Hapai volcano has erupted several times in recent decades but this latest eruption was so powerful that residents in Fiji and New Zealand said they heard it.

“My whole house was shaking,” said Sania Rugiero, a communications consultant in Suu Kyi, the capital of Fiji, about 50 miles (750 km) from Tonga.

“My doors and windows were shaking a lot. And in my house it was not as bad as in others. Hundreds of people ran out of their houses,” Rugiero said. According to her, eruptions from the volcano were heard throughout the night. Hundreds of people were taken to shelters in Suva, while Fiji Airways was forced to cancel all its flights due to the volcanic ash cloud. “It is the worst disaster for Tonga in history and recovery will take years,” Rugiero said.