The world is asking for help in the face of the water and food shortages that have caused the Tongan tsunami Tsunami News

The UN says about 60,000 people have been harmed by crops, livestock and fishing due to ash, salt water intrusion and the possibility of acid rain.

More aid boats and planes will arrive in Tongan in the coming days to help the international community respond to urgent requests for assistance from the Pacific island nation. after a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami.

The New Zealand shipping vessel, HMNZS Aotearoa, which carries 250,000 liters of water and is capable of producing 70,000 liters a day through a desalination plant, will arrive in Tonga on Friday.

The first flights from Australia and New Zealand landed in Tonga on Thursday with the necessary water supply for sanitation and hygiene, as well as shelter, communication equipment and electricity generators.

An Australian second aid flight had to be canceled on Thursday due to flight problems, and is expected today, the Tongan Australian High Commission said on Facebook.

More support is on the way to HMAS Adelaide on the way from Brisbane and said it will arrive in Tonga next week.

Two Japanese C-130H aircraft carrying supplies, including water, also departed from the Komaki air base in Aichi Prefecture on Thursday and are expected to arrive in Tongara on Thursday.

The Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Saturday with a devastating explosion that destroyed many towns, resorts and buildings and caused tsunamis that destroyed national communications with a population of about 105,000.

At least three people have been officially reported dead, although the actual extent of the deaths could not be determined immediately due to limited communication and difficulties in accessing some of the affected areas.

Ash has covered the archipelago and damaged much of the drinking water.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a speech that Tonga had called for urgent assistance and had a close relationship with the agency’s authorities.

“Assessment teams have reached most parts of the country, including remote and isolated islands,” Dujarric said.

“We remain seriously concerned about the access to safe water for 50,000 people across the country. Water quality testing continues, and most people rely on bottled water, ”he said.

Here is a sequence @planeta images that caused a massive eruption #Tonga (Figures 1-3), and post-eruption (Fig. 4).

Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai were 2 separate islands, which were connected by volcanic growth 7 years ago. Now they are disconnected again. pic.twitter.com/gnijplvteE

– Dr. Tanya Harrison (@tanyaofmars) January 18, 2022

About 60,000 people have been affected by crop, livestock and fishing damage, ash, salt water intrusion and the possibility of acid rain, Dujarric said.

Fuel shortages are also reported, he added.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Friday that funding for immediate humanitarian supplies to Tonga – Australia has given millions of dollars – should continue with increased aid for reconstruction.

Telephone connections between Tonga and the outside world were reconnected on Wednesday night, even though the restoration of the entire internet service may take a month or more.

Tongans have taken to social media to post pictures of the devastation of the tsunami and to report their surprise after the massive explosion.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said the force of the eruption was estimated to be the equivalent of five to 10 megatons of TNTor 500 times the size of a nuclear bomb dropped by the United States in the Japanese city of Hiroshima at the end of World War II.