In the Polynesian island country of Tonga, a large eruption of a volcano has taken place. The cloud of smoke released by it has been visible from satellites and the tsunami waves created by the event have claimed lives in South America, which is more than 10,000 kilometres away, British public broadcaster BBC reports.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano erupted on Saturday, January 15, on the Tongatapu island, where around 70% the whole population of Tonga of around 100,000 people live.
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As communications between Tonga and the outside world are crippled, it is difficult to know the scale of the destruction. Over 10,000km away, two people drowned off a beach in northern Peru amid high waves of the Pacific Ocean.
The far neighbours of Tonga – New Zealand and Australia – sent surveillance flights to find out more, with New Zealand saying there had been «significant damage» along the western coast of Tongatapu, Tonga’s main island. On Monday, January 17, internet and telephone communications in Tonga are extremely limited and outlying coastal areas remain interrupted, BBC reports.
Eruption of Oceania volcano claims lives over 10,000 km away
