Overseas Tongans wait anxiously for news after volcano eruption
2 years, 11 months ago

Overseas Tongans wait anxiously for news after volcano eruption

Al Jazeera  

Overseas Tongans are waiting anxiously for news of loved ones after a powerful volcanic eruption and tsunami severed communications with the kingdom in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. “I think the worst part is the blackout and the fact that we know nothing,” said Filipo Motulalo, a New Zealand-based journalist with Pacific Media Network. And our concern is for children who would obviously have had mental trauma because of this once-in-a-lifetime event.” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said officials had made satellite contact with the country’s high commission in Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, after the eruption which triggered a tsunami that swept Pacific coastlines from Japan to the United States and was heard as far away as Alaska and Finland. “I would say we’re anxious, not fearful,” said the Auckland Tongan Community secretary, Kennedy Maeakafa Fakana’ana’a-ki-Fualu. Fakana’ana’a-ki-Fualu, who is arranging for containers of relief supplies to be sent to Tonga, said a cable fault preventing internet access was a serious issue for families reliant on funds sent by the Tongan community in New Zealand.

History of this topic

Tonga eruption: PM says rebuilding lives will take time due to trauma
2 years, 11 months ago
First aid flights arrive in Tonga after massive volcanic eruption and tsunami
2 years, 11 months ago
Tonga latest news: Three dead and all homes destroyed on one island, government says
2 years, 11 months ago
Volcanic ash delays aid to Tonga as damage reports emerge
2 years, 11 months ago

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