Tonga : First flight with aid lands from New Zealand
The first foreign aid plane has arrived in Tonga, carrying much-needed water and supplies for the Pacific nation. New Zealand said its military plane landed at Tonga’s main airport after workers cleared ash from the runway. Other planes and ships sent by New Zealand and Australia are on the way.
New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry warned further eruptions of the volcano were likely, posing a tsunami risk.The estimation was based on modeling by GNS Science, a New Zealand geological research institute, the ministry said. “The most likely scenario is for ongoing eruptions in the next several days to weeks, with ongoing tsunami risk to Tonga and New Zealand,” it said.
Telephone links between Tonga and the rest of the world were also partially restored on Thursday, though restoring full internet connectivity is likely to take a month or more according to the owner of the archipelago’s sole subsea communications cable.
U.N. humanitarian officials report that about 84,000 people more than 80% of Tonga’s population have been impacted by the volcano’s eruption, U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, pointing to three deaths, injuries, loss of homes and polluted water.
