Relief efforts in Tonga are being hampered by damaged communications, falling ash that has closed the main airport, and tight anti-COVID procedures, according to UN authorities.
The death toll remained at three, with an unknown number of people injured, according to officials.
“Needs evaluations by the Tongan authorities are ongoing and should provide a better approximation of what is required of the international community,” Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ main spokesman said.
There are 23 UN workers in Tonga, 22 local hires and one international staffer.
Jonathan Veitch, the UN acting resident and humanitarian coordinator for Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, described the issues that have arisen as a result of Saturday’s eruption in a video conference.
Satellite phones were used to communicate inside the 36 inhabited islands of Tonga, as well as between Tonga and the rest of the world, in the capital Nuku’alofa and between Tonga and the rest of the world.
Voice, video, and internet services were disrupted after a major submarine communications cable was damaged.
The airport in Nuku’alofa remained closed as employees were unable to finish cleaning ashfall. Ships travelling from Australia and New Zealand would reach in Tonga in six to eight days, officials stated.
