At least three people have died and multiple injured in Tonga after Friday and Saturday's violent eruptions of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, about 65 km north of Tonga's capital city of Nuku'alofa.
According to Radio New Zealand late Tuesday, the Tongan government has confirmed in its first official statement after the volcanic eruptions that three people have died -- one each on the islands of Mango and Nomuka, as well as British national Angela Glover in Tongatapu, Tonga's main island.
The Tongan government also confirmed that all houses on the island of Mango were wiped out in a tsunami caused by Saturday's volcanic eruption.
Meanwhile, the Tongan government said that the islands of Mango, Atata and Fonoifua were all being evacuated now, and that water supplies in the island nation were seriously affected.
The death toll in the island nation will likely increase.
Serious damage has also been reported on the west coast of Tonga's main island of Tongatapu, where a state of emergency has been declared.
On Tuesday afternoon, two New Zealand naval ships carrying fresh water, emergency provisions and diving teams were being sent to Tonga to provide support.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano is part of the highly active Tonga-Kermadec Islands volcanic arc, a subduction zone extending from New Zealand north-northeast to Fiji. Over the past decades, the volcano has erupted several times.
京公網安備 11010202009201號