Photo: CONSULATE OF THE KINGDOM OF TONGA IN THE EUROPEAN UNION / copyright
Photographs arriving from Tonga reveal the scale of damage generated by tsunami waves triggered by an underwater volcano.
The images show the Pacific islands covered by a layer of volcanic ash, while in coastal areas, it is seen how the waves felled trees and destroyed buildings.
Saturday’s tsunami left at least three people dead (two locals and one British citizen) and destroyed communications.
International telephone links are said to have been restored, but repairing a severed inter-oceanic submarine cable may take weeks.
This means that Tonga remains largely isolated from the outside world, with little information available on the scale of the destruction.
But the new images, released by the Tongan consulate in the UK, show cars, roads and buildings in the capital, Nuku’alofa, covered by a layer of ash.
The dust has prevented humanitarian aid planes from landing and delivering food and much-needed drinking water.
The photos also show the aftermath of the tsunami waves, described by the Tonga government as a “disaster unprecedented” in the coastal areas of the island.
There is debris scattered throughout the coast, after waves of more than one meter in altitude will affect Tonga.
Meanwhile, aerial photos taken by the f The New Zealand Air Force indicates that several populations have disappeared on islands that have not yet been reached.
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