Tsunami-hit Tonga islands suffered extensive damage, more deaths feared

"People panic, people run and get injuries. Possibly there will be more deaths and we just pray that is not the case," Tonga’s deputy head of mission in Australia, Curtis Tu’ihalangingie, told Reuters.

Atata and Mango are between about 50 and 70 km from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, which sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean and was heard some 2,300 km away in New Zealand when it erupted on Saturday."It is very alarming to see the wave possibly went through Atata from one end to the other," said Tu’ihalangingie.

People on the west coast of the main island of Tongatapu had been evacuated because of "significant damage", OCHA added in an update, while government ministers had broadcast warnings on radio against price gouging amid worries of supply shortages. C-130 flights from Australia could deliver humanitarian assistance including water purification supplies, she said, while the HMAS Adelaide, which would take five days to arrive by sea, was ready to carry engineering and medical personnel and helicopter support for distribution.

ANZ said the bank's Nuku’alofa branch is open for limited services, although clean water supply and communication were a major challenge for the bank.The archipelago has remained largely cut off from the world since the eruption which cut its main undersea communications cable.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Local Tongan community working to get updates on situation after volcanic eruption near TongaAfter a volcanic eruption undersea near Tonga early Saturday, New Zealand and Australia sent military flights on Monday to assess the damage left behind in the Pacific island nation.
Source: KIRO7Seattle - 🏆 271. / 63 Read more »

Updates trickle in from Tonga as Utah Tongan families look for ways to helpAfter a weekend waiting for any updates from her home in Tonga, Verna Tukuafu is starting to get word of the devastation left behind by a volcanic eruption and ensuing tsunamis.
Source: KSLcom - 🏆 549. / 51 Read more »

Tongan Olympian who became a viral sensation for his oiled torso asks for tsunami helpThe three-time Olympian, who lives in Australia, created a GoFundMe account that has raised more than $142,000 as of Sunday morning and wrote on social media that communications with his family in Ha’apai had been cut off.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »

Significant tsunami damage feared in Tonga, communications still cutTsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the Pacific islands as casualty reports had yet to come through. Thought are with you. Hoping that help arrives soon.
Source: ReutersScience - 🏆 559. / 51 Read more »

Tonga tsunami: Advisory canceled for Washington, Oregon coastsAdvisories are in effect for Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
Source: KIRO7Seattle - 🏆 271. / 63 Read more »

Pacific tsunami warning recedes; Tonga covered by ash cloudThe tsunami threat throughout the Pacific from a huge underwater volcanic eruption has begun to recede, though the massive ash cloud covering Tonga is preventing surveillance flights from New Zealand to assess the extent of damage.
Source: KTVU - 🏆 465. / 53 Read more »