Tonga’s government has described the tsunami that followed Saturday’s volcanic eruption as “an unprecedented disaster” for the country.
Three of Tonga’s smaller islands suffered from tsunami waves, officials and the Red Cross said Wednesday, as a wider picture begins to emerge of the caused by the eruption of an undersea volcano near the Pacific archipelago nation on Saturday. The eruption was powerful enough to for the U.S. West Coast. Communications have been down throughout Tonga since the eruption, but a ship made it to the outlying islands of Nomuka, Mango and Fonoifua on Wednesday, and reported back that few homes remain standing after settlements were hit with 15-meter (49 feet) high waves, said Katie Greenwood, the head of delegation in the Pacific for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which had two people aboard the vessel to help assess the damage. After days with little information getting out, photos have also begun to appear showing damage in the capital city, Nuku’alofa. “Very unfortunate information has come to light overnight about the three islands that we were really worried about — that they have all suffered devastating consequences as an effect of these incoming waves,” Greenwood told The Associated Press in an interview from Fiji. “Most of the structures and dwellings on those islands have been completely destroyed.” Tonga’s government has described the tsunami as “an unprecedented disaster” for the country. It said the tsunami completely wiped out one village, while only a few houses remained standing in several other settlements, the AFP news agency reported. The Consulate of the Kingdom of Tonga posted photos showing damage in the capital area. pic.twitter.com/6mdYjefO56 Other images taken in coastal areas show debris scattered across the shore. Trees were uprooted, buildings and vehicles damaged or destroyed, and the islands covered in a layer of ash from the volcano. Local residents began clean-up efforts as the world continued to wait for details to emerge on the extent of the damage and what kind of outside assistance might be needed. Tonga, an archipelago of islands with about 105,000 residents, is located about 1,480 miles northeast of New Zealand in the South Pacific.
