Reconnaissance flights after a volcanic eruption off Tonga

Two days after the massive eruption of an undersea volcano near the island of the Kingdom of Tonga, the extent of damage to the South Seas archipelago is still unclear. Military aircraft from New Zealand and Australia are on their way to the area today for an aerial survey.

Meanwhile, the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Australia has identified another “major eruption”. She added that the latest outbreak of the epidemic was recorded last night.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also said it had detected large waves in the area. “This may be due to another eruption from the Tonga volcano,” the statement said. “There are no known earthquakes of any large size that could produce this wave.”

Military aircraft from New Zealand and Australia were on their way to the area to conduct an aerial survey. Communications there remained severely affected, particularly on some of the remote islands of Tonga, which have not been contacted since the outbreak of Hong Tonga-Hung Hapai. Tonga has about 170 islands, 36 of which are uninhabited.

Saturday’s eruption can be heard thousands of miles away. It unleashed the tidal waves and put many Pacific nations on alert. Tsunami waves were recorded not only in Tonga, but also in New Zealand, Japan, Alaska and South America. Aid organizations have warned of health damage from the huge ash clouds and advised Tonga residents to wear masks and only drink bottled water.