South Pacific islands remains cut off after a massive Tonga volcano

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the tsunami had wreaked "significant damage" to South Pacific nation Tonga. The eruption and subsequent tsunami caused "significant damage" along the western coast of the main island of Tongatapu, the New Zealand High Commission in Nuku'alofa said Monday. The eruption has covered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications. No deaths have been reported so far. “Alarming” images taken by New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) reconnaissance flights showed an entire village destroyed on Mango Island and numerous buildings missing on nearby Atata Island, said Tonga’s deputy head of mission in Australia, Curtis Tu’ihalangingie. As per reports , The eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga on Saturday was likely the biggest recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years.

Tsunami waves were noticed across the Pacific Ocean as the eruption sent a huge plume about 30 kilometres into the sky. Satellite imagery provided by Maxar Technologies on Tuesday, shows the destruction of the volcanic island as well as the volcanic debris floating in the ocean. Pictures also show land and trees in the nearby areas coated with ash and damage inflicted by the undersea volcanic eruption and tsunami.

Tsunami waves of about 80cm (2.7 feet) crashed into Tonga’s shoreline and crossed the Pacific, causing minor damage from New Zealand to the US state of California. The eruption set off a sonic boom that could be heard as far away as Alaska. The explosion was the latest in a series of dramatic eruptions. Tonga is a kingdom of 176 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, with a population of 104,494. In late 2014 and early 2015, eruptions created a small new island and disrupted air travel to the Pacific archipelago.