Tonga reveals 50 FOOT tsunami destroyed ALL houses on one island while just two are left on another in 'unprecedented disaster' as death toll climbs to three and new pictures reveal extent of devastation
At least three people have been killed and more injured after a 50ft tsunami triggered by an underwater volcano exploding slammed into Tonga, the government has said in its first update since the 'unprecedented disaster'.
The dead include a 65-year-old woman on Mango Island, a 49-year-old man on Nomuka Island, and 50-year-old Briton Angela Glover who was found dead on Tongatapu Island on Monday.
An entire village on Mango Island has been swept away by the tsunami, the government said today, with just two buildings left standing on Fonoifua Island. Namuka Island also has 'extensive damage'.
Rescue operations including evacuations of Mango, Fonoifua and Atata islands are underway, with 'a number of' injuries also reported - though government officials could not say how many.
Communications from Tonga, a remote set of Pacific islands with a population of 105,000, have been sparse since disaster struck late Saturday when the Hunga-Tonga volcano dramatically exploded - sparking a tsunami, covering nearby islands in ash, and severing an undersea internet cable connecting the country with the outside world.
While early reports from the islands were encouraging, as the days have gone on the picture has darkened. Aid workers on the main island of Tongatapu say the death toll there is likely to be limited, but fears are growing for hundreds of people who live on smaller outlying islands and have not been heard from since the eruption.
Reconnaissance planes from the Australian and New Zealand air forces circled some of the islands on Monday, giving a glimpse of the conditions being faced by survivors - though planes cannot currently land because ash has covered the main air strip which has to be cleared by hand, a process that could take days.
Meanwhile satellite images have also given a window into the extent of the devastation, revealing an eerie moon-like landscape with entire islands turned a dark grey colour by heavy ash falls.
New Zealand and Australian air force planes have circled Tonga, as the true scale of devastation caused to the islands slowly emerges. Pictured above is one of the smaller islands, which appears grey because it is blanketed in ash
An image taken from a military reconnaissance plane shows a Tongan village inundated with ash, while the beach shows signs of water damage where tsunami waves washed ashore following a huge volcanic eruption at the weekend
Tarpaulin tents are seen being used as temporary shelters on Mango Island, where every building has been destroyedTsunami waves reaching up to 50ft hit the Ha'apia island group and the west coast of Tonga's main island, Tongatapu, the prime minister's office said.
On the western coast of the main island, 56 houses were completely or seriously damaged and residents moved to evacuation centres.
Mango is about 43 miles from the Hunga Tonga volcano, which sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean when it erupted with a blast heard 1,430 miles away in New Zealand.
A search and rescue operation began on Sunday for Atata island, which has a population of about 100 people.
'Challenges to sea and air transportation remain due to damage sustained by the wharves and the ash that is covering the runways,' it said. Some limited communications had been made with satellite phones, but other areas remain cut off.
The Tongan navy had deployed with health teams and water, food and tents to the Ha'apai islands, with more aid sent on Tuesday due to the severity of the damage observed on Mango, Fonoifua and Namuka islands, it said.
Australia's Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja said Tongan officials were hoping to evacuate people from the isolated, low-lying Ha'apai islands group and other outer islands where conditions were 'very tough, we understand, with many houses being destroyed in the tsunami.'
The United Nations had earlier reported a distress signal was detected in Ha'apai, where Mango is located. The Tongan navy reported the area was hit by waves estimated to be 5-10 metres (15-30 feet) high, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Atata and Mango are between between 30 and 40 miles from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, which exploded on Saturday evening in a blast that was heard 1,400 miles away in New Zealand, threw a plume of ash into the atmosphere, and sent tsunami waves rippling across the Pacific.
Atata has a population of about 100 people and Mango around 50 people. 'It is very alarming to see the wave possibly went through Atata from one end to the other,' said Tu'ihalangingie.
The NZDF images, which were posted unofficially on a Facebook site and confirmed by Tu'ihalangingie, also showed tarpaulins being used as shelter on Mango island.
A thick layer of ash blankets the islands, the New Zealand High Commission said, adding it was working to establish communications with smaller islands 'as a matter of priority
Buildings and trees on the island of Nomuka, Tonga, are seen covered in ash in an image which first appears to have been taken in black and white but is in fact in colour
Buildings are seen covered in ash with water damage visible along the coastline of a Tongan island in this image taken from a New Zealand air force reconnaissance plane
An image taken from a New Zealand military plane reveals damage to a village on Fonoifua Island, Tonga
An image from a New Zealand military plane reveals damage to Nomuka Island, Tonga, after the eruption
Satellite images show a district of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa before and after the eruption, with the buildings and trees turning grey after being blanketed in volcanic ash
Satellite images taken of the peak of the Hunga-Tonga volcano show how it was all-but destroyed in the explosive eruption late on Saturday, with only one piece left visible above the ocean
Nomuka Island, Tonga, is seen before and after the eruption which caused widespread damage to villages and blanketed the island in ash, turning it a dark grey colour
The peak of the Hunga-Tonga volcano is seen before and after the eruption, which destroyed most of the cone
Aid flights cannot land at Tonga's main airport because the runway is currently inundated with ash, with officials saying it take until at least Wednesday for workers to clear it by hand
Workers are seen clearing the runway of Tonga's main airport in preparation for aid flights to land, though officials warn it could take until Wednesday for that to happenThe archipelago's main airport, Fua'amotu International Airport, was not damaged in Saturday's eruption and tsunami but heavy ashfall is preventing full operations, hampering international relief efforts.
The U.N. humanitarian office said Tongan officials had said that clearing the runway would take days as it was being done manually, by Wednesday at the earliest.
People on the western coast of the main island of Tongatapu had been evacuated because of 'significant damage', OCHA added in an update, while government ministers had broadcast warnings on radio against price gouging amid worries of supply shortages.
The Tongan government is expected to formally request aid from countries including Australia and New Zealand tomorrow. Both antipodean nations have C-130 military aircraft on standby, packed with emergency supplies.
'The priority now will to be get supplies to Tonga and the biggest constraint on that at the moment ... is the airport. There is still a significant amount of ash,' Seselja said.
Tonga is a kingdom of 176 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, with a population of 104,494 people.
The archipelago has remained largely cut off from the world since the eruption which cut its main undersea communications cable.
Subcom, a U.S. based private company contracted to repair various subsea cables in the Asia-Pacific, said it was working with Tonga Cable Ltd to repair the cable that runs from Tonga to Fiji.
Samiuela Fonua, the chair of Tonga Cable, said there were two cuts in the undersea cable that would not be fixed until volcanic activity ceased, allowing repair crews access.
'The condition of the site is still pretty messy at the moment,' Fonua told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, which sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, all but disappeared following the blast, according to satellite images taken about 12 hours later, making it difficult for volcanologists to monitor activity.
Damage to coastal areas is visible on Niniva Island, which was damaged in the Tonga tsunami
An image of Tonga's main port taken by an Australian military plane shows stacks of shipping containers have been bowled over by a tsunami wave which swept across the island
Ash is seen covering buildings on O'Ua Island, Tonga, after a devastating underwater volcanic eruption struck the region and triggered a 4ft tsunami
Damaged buildings are pictured on Uiha Island, Tonga, in an image taken from an Australian military plane as rescuers try to plan their response to the disaster
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