An evacuation operation is underway in Tonga for residents on some of the smaller islands of Ha’apai which has been hit hard by Saturday’s volcanic eruption and tsunami.
There are three confirmed deaths – UK national Angela Glover, a 65-year-old woman from Mango and 49-year-old man from Nomuka.
A Tongan Navy patrol boat was sent on Sunday to the Ha’apai group but found such extensive damage that another vessel was sent on Tuesday night with emergency supplies and medical personnel.
In a media release the Tongan Government has confirmed every house on Mango is destroyed and only two houses remain standing on Fonoifua.
Those residents are being evacuated to Nomuka where there is also extensive damage but is not as severely hit as the other two islands.
People from the western side of Tongatapu including Kanokupolu where 21 homes were destroyed and 35 severely damaged are being taken to evacuation centres.
The first image from a New Zealand Defence Force surveillance flight over Nomuka was seen on Tuesday. (Source: 1News)
The island of ‘Eua has reported two homes destroyed and 45 severely damaged.
While there has been no communication with the three islands in the Niua group it is considered low risk because of their distance to the volcano.
The Government say water supplies are “seriously affected” by volcanic ash and assessment teams have been sent to coastal villages in Tongatapu to see what the needs are.
“Challenges to sea and air transportation remain due to damage sustained by the wharves and the ash that is covering the runways .. .domestic and international flights have been deferred until further notice as the airports undergo clean-up”.
It could be Thursday before the international airport is cleared for flights.
Two New Zealand Navy ships are headed to Tonga carrying fresh water, emergency supplies and diving teams.
The HMNZS Aotearoa is transporting 250,000 litres of water and is able to produce an extra 70,000 litres per day through desalinisation.
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