Houses on island in Tonga completely destroyed: several deaths reported after submarine volcanic eruption | Abroad

It is the first time since the eruption that the government of the island nation is making itself heard. Communications are not yet good, because a submarine cable was badly damaged by the eruption. Fixing can take weeks.

The death toll from the natural disaster is currently at five. Three people were killed by the volcanic eruption and two by the ensuing tsunami. The death toll could still rise.

Water supplies on several islands have been seriously threatened with ash deposits everywhere after the eight-minute eruption. Much drinking water has become contaminated and is no longer safe for consumption.

“Among the dead in Tonga is a person of British nationality,” the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

The brother of the 50-year-old woman from Great Britain already confirmed the death of his sister in the British media on Monday. She is said to have died trying to save her dogs from the tsunami that followed the volcanic eruption. The identity of the victims is not yet known.

Australia and New Zealand already sent reconnaissance planes to the island state on Monday to examine the damage. The eruption of the volcano on Saturday was so large that it was measurable everywhere on Earth by difference in air pressure. At least two more people were killed in Peru, 10,000 kilometers from Tonga. The women drowned because of abnormally high waves caused by the tsunami after the eruption. An oil spill has also arisen off the Peruvian coast. The waves caused a ship to rock and leak oil, forming a patch of more than 2 kilometers along the coast.

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