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WELLINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Pacific nations and aid groups were scrambling to restore communications with Tonga on Sunday after a tsunami triggered by an eruption of an undersea volcano cut off phone connections and internet, raising concerns for the island nation.
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano off Tonga has triggered a tsunami warning in several Pacific islands, where waves up to one meter high have been reported.
Waves 1.2 m high hit Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga, located 65 km north of the volcano.
Telephone and internet connections were cut on Saturday around 6:40 p.m. local time (05:40 GMT), leaving the 105,000 inhabitants of the archipelago unreachable.
“The images of the eruption near Tonga are very disturbing,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
“Our defense teams and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are currently trying to re-establish communications (with Tonga) so that we can find out what Tongans need and how we can help them,” she added. .
The Asia-Pacific Regional Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said it was monitoring the situation and said it had no information about damage or possible victims. .
(Report Praveen Menon; French version Camille Raynaud)
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