China News Service, Beijing, January 18. Comprehensive news: Many foreign media reported on the 18th that the Tongan government made its first public statement after the violent eruption of the country’s volcano, confirming that “all buildings were destroyed by the tsunami” on an island in the country. The disaster has killed at least three people.
According to the BBC and Reuters, the Tongan government issued a statement on the 18th local time, saying that after the eruption of the Hongaha Apay Island volcano and triggered a large-scale tsunami, “all buildings on an island in Tonga were destroyed by the tsunami… suffered an unprecedented disaster”; some smaller outlying islands were also more severely affected. Meanwhile, the island’s thick volcanic ash hampered external aid.
The Tongan government confirmed in a statement that three people had been killed in the disaster, including two locals and one British. According to the New Zealand High Commission in Tonga, the Briton who died was a woman who adopted stray animals in Tonga. It is unclear if there were any more casualties due to poor local communications.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on the 18th that after the eruption of the volcano, the Chinese Embassy in Tonga immediately activated the emergency response mechanism. As of the afternoon of the 17th local time, there were no reports of casualties among Chinese citizens.
Earlier on the 18th local time, the Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga had declared a state of emergency.
The New Zealand Air Force dispatched a maritime patrol plane to Tonga to investigate the disaster on the 17th local time. According to a Reuters report on the 18th, aerial images were “shocking”, a village on the island of Mangau, tens of kilometers from Hongaha Apay Island, was completely destroyed, and “a large number of buildings disappeared” on the nearby Atata Island.
According to the New Zealand High Commission in Tonga, the western area of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga, was severely damaged. The Tongan government is working hard to carry out post-disaster clean-up work so that people can return to normal life as soon as possible. New Zealand has sent two warships to bring emergency relief supplies, including drinking water, into Tonga because the runway at Nuku’alofa International Airport was covered in thick volcanic ash, preventing transport planes from landing.
An initial assessment by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that 80,000 people in Tonga could be affected. At present, China, New Zealand, Australia and many other countries have expressed their assistance to Tonga. However, the affected islands were widely covered by volcanic ash, poor communication, and unstable power supply, making it difficult to investigate the disaster, rescue and deliver supplies.
On the 14th and 15th local time, the submarine volcano on the Aha Apay Island in Tonga Hong erupted violently for two consecutive times and triggered a tsunami, and many countries around the Pacific issued a tsunami warning. Some experts believe that this may be one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions of the 21st century. (Finish)Return to Sohu, see more
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