Aid reaches Tonga after volcano disaster

Help is finally reaching the Pacific island nation of Tonga. The country was cut off from the rest of the world on 15th January when the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai submarine volcano erupted.

Visible even from space, the explosion could be heard as far away as Alaska and triggered a tsunami that flooded coastlines from Japan to the United States. Erupting 30 kilometres into the air, it deposited ash, gas and acid rain across large areas of the Pacific.

Tongan residents of New Zealand banded together in the face of the twin disasters of the volcanic eruption and tsunami. They collected and shipped urgent supplies for the islands.

Jenny Sales is a New Zealand MP of Tongan descent.

Jenny Sales: "There are just over 70 thousand Tongans here in New Zealand. And we know that about 80 percent of Tonga is affected by this. This natural disaster is different to cyclones in the past, right, which has only affected parts of Tonga, or Ha'apai, or Vavaʻu or Ongo Niua. This one, twin disasters, has affected the majority of, of Tonga and so it is a huge concern for us."

Containers were filled with food and clean drinking water, as it's likely that the water supplies could have been contaminated with ash.

However, Fatafehi Fakafanua, the Speaker of Tonga's Legislative Assembly, believes that the assistance will need to continue for many months.

Fatafehi Fakafanua: "It's good to see such an early response. But I think what's important is the ongoing response because it won't end here. One week, two weeks from now, I think, I'm sure in two months, we'll still need support. So, it's gonna be a long road to recovery and we hope that we'll continue to sustain this."

The explosion has also severed underwater telephone and internet cables, meaning that until these are restored, it's difficult for the outside world to fully understand the impact of the twin disasters. However, Tonga's people are insistent that they will remain on the islands, and they will rebuild.

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