Australia, New Zealand Begin Aerial Inspection of Tonga After Tsunami
Voice of America
17 Jan 2022, 19:05 GMT+10
WASHINGTON - Australia and New Zealand sent military surveillance flights to the isolated Pacific island nation of Tonga Monday to assess the damage caused by a strong undersea volcanic eruption Saturday.
The eruption sent a huge cloud of ash over the island and triggered a tsunami that swept over Tonga's shoreline. Officials in Australia and New Zealand say they have received reports of significant damage to shops and houses along the shoreline from Tongans using satellite phone service.
Saturday's eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano severely damaged the single undersea fiber-optic cable that provides phone and Internet service to the island. Repairs to the cable could take anywhere from one to three weeks.
Tongan authorities say the volcanic ash has turned the air toxic and contaminated the island's fresh drinking water supplies, and are urging residents to wear masks and drink bottled water.
Authorities have also raised concerns about relief workers bringing COVID-19 into the island, which has so far avoided the disease.
The only confirmed apparent casualty in Tonga from Saturday's disaster is a British woman who was swept out to sea by the tsunami.
The eruption triggered tsunami warnings along much of the western United States coastline. Two people in Peru drowned due to high waves triggered by the tsunami.
Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
Subscribe and Follow
Get a daily dose of New Zealand Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
News RELEASES
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to New Zealand Star.
More Information
13
℃
US Air chief General Charles Brown to become Chairman of Joint Chiefs
WASHINGTON D.C.: The White House announced this week that President Joe Biden has chosen US Air Force chief General Charles ...
Typhoon Mawar strikes Guam, much of island without power, water
GUAM: After Typhoon Mawar brought strong winds and torrential rains, large areas of the US Western Pacific territory of Guam ...
US government, business warned of Chinese spying on infrastructure
NEW YORK CITY, New York: In one of the largest known Chinese cyber-espionage campaigns against American critical infrastructure, a state-sponsored ...
After warnings from EU, ChatGPT said it could leave Europe
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, has said the company could consider leaving Europe if it could ...
Second Biden nominee for federal judge withdraws before hearings
WASHINGTON D.C.: Reuters has reported that US President Joe Biden's nominee for a federal judge position in Kansas, Jabari Wamble, ...
US seeks answers after six near misses at airports
WASHINGTON D.C.: Jennifer Homendy, head of the US National Transportation Safety Board, has said the US will investigate recent near ...
Global stocks mixed, American and UK markets closed
FRANKFURT, Germany - With U.S. and UK. markets closed for public holidays, it was left to European and broader global ...
Verizon to layoff 6,000 customer service employees
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The Verge has reported that Verizon Communications met with more than 6,000 customer service employees ...
Software glitch causes Vietnam electric vehicle recall
WASHINGTON D.C.: In response to a safety warning issued by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Vietnamese electric vehicle ...
As problems mount, electric truck maker Nikola warned of de-listing
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Electric truck manufacturer Nikola Corp said that Nasdaq has delivered a delisting notice for not ...
Target moving away from LGBTQ pride due to customer backlash
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota: Reuters reported that after facing a backlash from customers, Target is pulling some products from its Pride Collection ...
India's Tata chooses UK as site for new EV battery plant
LONDON, England: The BBC has reported that Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors is planning to build a multi-billion pound ...
