For the second time, in 3 days, the Tonga volcano in the Pacific Ocean renewed its eruption today, Monday, and volcanic ash reached Australia, which, along with New Zealand, sent planes to the Tonga archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean to survey the conditions left by the volcano.
The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center said today that it has detected another “major eruption” of the Tonga volcano, three days after the first eruption that caused a tsunami across parts of the Pacific Ocean.
For its part, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also indicated that it had detected large waves in the area, saying, “This may be the result of another explosion of the Tonga volcano.”
As for the Weather Watch New Zealand weather monitoring website, it said today that ash from the eruption of the volcano has now reached Queensland, Australia, and the weather forecast website said that ash clouds covered a large part of the state from east to west and will cover most of the state today.
The eruption of the volcano caused atmospheric shock waves and tsunami waves that extended long distances as far as Alaska, Japan and South America.
Meanwhile, the defense forces of New Zealand and Australia moved to the Tonga archipelago in the South Pacific, and a New Zealand army plane took off from Auckland today to carry out a reconnaissance operation over Tonga, including over the islands on the outer fringes of the archipelago that have not yet been heard. There are about 170 islands in the entire Tonga archipelago, 36 of which are uninhabited.
Meanwhile, there are hopes that an Australian Defense Force aircraft will survey critical infrastructure, such as roads, ports and power lines in Tonga today, if conditions permit.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a press conference that her country hopes to send another plane to deliver immediate supplies to Tonga later today, adding that a helicopter can land in Tonga if the airstrip there is not damaged, and the supplies can also be dropped from the plane by parachute and “. The flights that took place today will help us identify the needs there.”
The Tonga islands are still cut off from the world today, as the disaster appears to have damaged a major communications line.
Peter Lund, Commissioner of New Zealand in Tonga, wrote – on Facebook – that the Internet service was down after an underwater line was damaged. local, not international.
“It’s a terrible time, but Nuku Alofa is still holding on. Electricity has been restored to many homes,” he added. “There will be a big cleanup this week, volcanic ash is covering Nuku’alofa,” he added.
For its part, Save the Children in Fiji stated that families in Tonga could be exposed to unsafe air and water due to the ash and smoke from the eruption.
The organization’s executive director, Sayrana Ali, said people were asked to use masks and bottled water, noting that the sound of explosions from the Tonga eruption could be heard clearly in Fiji, “and our prayers for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Tonga.”
As for US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, he tweeted, “I am very concerned about the people of Tonga. We are ready to send aid.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a tweet that his organization “is ready to support the government and contribute assistance.” The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also announced that it is preparing emergency supplies to be sent to the Tonga archipelago, in cooperation with Australia and New Zealand.
And 10 thousand kilometers from Tonga, two women drowned in Peru on the Nilelamp beach in the north of the country due to “unusual waves” that followed the eruption of the volcano, according to what was stated yesterday by the National Emergency Operations Center.
In California, in the United States, floods were recorded in the city of Santa Cruz caused by tsunami waves, according to video footage broadcast by the National Weather Service. The Geological Survey said that Saturday’s eruption is equivalent to a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, and it occurred on the surface (0 km depth).