Although there are reports of significant damage in the South Pacific island nation of Tonga following a massive volcanic eruption that triggered a tsunami on Saturday, communication problems have prevented a full picture of the situation from being obtained.
The authorities have not confirmed any deaths, but communications are at a standstill, making it difficult to establish the scale of the destruction.
But a British woman, Angela Glover, died after of being dragged by the waves, as confirmed by her brother.
To over 10,000 km away from the eruption, two people drowned on a beach in northern Peru.
The Peruvian police reported that on a beach known as Naylamp, in the province of Chiclayo , in the north of the country, two women were overwhelmed by “anomaly waves lo” on Saturday and drowned.
Police described the beach as “not suitable for bathing”, but it was not clear if the women were in the water when the waves hit.
In Tonga itself it is believed that up to 30,002 people may have been affected by the event, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) told the BBC.
Internet and telephone communications on the island are extremely limited and outlying coastal areas remain isolated.
“Significant damage has been reported along the western coast of Tongatapu, including tourist centers and the coast of North Nuku’alofa,” he posted on Facebook l to New Zealand High Commission on Tonga, referring to the main island of Tonga.
“A thick layer of ash remains on Tongatapu”, he added.
In particular, there is much concern about the situation on the islands remote outdoor.
The New Zealand Defense Force tweeted that a plane had departed for Tonga to “assist in an assessment of initial impact of the area and low-lying islands”.
Katie Greenwood of the IFRC in Fiji said help was urgently needed.
“We suspect that there could be up to 80,000 people in Tonga affected by the eruption itself or by tsunami wave and flood like result of the eruption,” he said.
“That was a shock to people, so we have some concern about those outer islands and we are very interested in hearing from people,” he added.
Local residents say that Tonga looks like “a moonscape” after being covered by a layer of volcanic ash.
The dust is contaminating the water flows and right now the water fresh air has become a necessity, according to Ardern.
Charities said the ash and smoke had prompted authorities to ask residents to drink bottled water and wear masks to protect their lungs .
One of the worst eruptions in decades
The underwater volcano erupted on Sat Bad, spewed a column of ash into the sky and prompted warnings of 1.2-meter waves. The eruption was so strong that it could be heard in New Zealand, at 2,80 km from Tonga.
While the sky was covered with ash, several videos showed the traffic jams and how many people fled in cars from the lower areas. Hours later, phone and internet lines went down in Tonga, leaving the 105,000 island residents.
Ardern said power was being restored in parts of Tonga and mobile phones were starting to work slowly. However, the situation in some coastal areas remains unknown.
Unable to speak to their friends and family, many Tongans in Australia and New Zealand were concerned for their safety.
Images on social networks show the desolation caused by the floods. (Photo: CONSULATE OF THE KINGDOM OF TONGA)New Zealand and Australia are sending surveillance flights to assess the extent of the damage.
Satellite images show that some smaller islands have been completely submerged under water.
Experts say that the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano is one of the most violent in the region in decades.
The eruption triggered tsunami warnings in several countries, including Chile, the United States and Japan. Some flooding was reported in coastal areas in California and Alaska.
Satellite images show the destruction of the volcano
Analysis – Jonathan Amos, Science Correspondent
Scientists first saw Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai after Saturday’s eruption when the European Union’s Sentinel-1A satellite flew above.
This spacecraft is a radar platform and can see through clouds and ash that obscure the surface below.
The images clearly showed that much of the rim of the crater that rose above the ocean waters had been destroyed, a sign of the ferocity of the explosion.
Need more studies
Researchers will study to understand the cause of a tsunami that caused waves not only on the nearby islands but on various beaches around the Pacific Ocean.
To what extent was the explosion itself responsible? The pressure waves can generate what is called a “meteotsunami”.
Another possibility is that perhaps the displacement of the water was the result of an invisible collapse of part of the volcano below the surface of the ocean.
In the next few days the facts will be clarified when more information about what happened is obtained.
Tea may be of interest:
They report a second “major eruption” in the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga and later they retract
This is how the tsunami caused by the volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean arrived in Ecuador
Now you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate it so you don’t miss out on our best content.
271276110
Do you already know our YouTube channel? Subscribe!