On the 14th and 15th local time, the South Pacific island nation of Tonga's Hong Aha Apai Island volcano erupted twice, causing an "unprecedented disaster". Local communications, transportation and livelihood have been seriously affected, and the transoceanic tsunami has also affected the entire Pacific coast.
On the 15th, the reporter of the main station used a driving recorder to capture the footage after the eruption of the Tonga volcano in Tonganuku'alofa. In the picture, the volcanic ash fragments are "as big as hail", and the shock wave makes people "buzz in the eardrums".
Ash clean-up work in Tonga has started and the streets are not open to traffic
On the 19th, the people of Nuku'alofa, the capital of Tonga, began to clean up the volcanic ash, but due to the lack of large machinery, the clean-up work was slow. Tonga Capital International Airport is covered in volcanic ash and still does not have normal navigation conditions. Coastal areas were severely affected by the tsunami, and buildings and roads were damaged to varying degrees, and some roads were unable to open to traffic.
△ Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa, after the tsunami, residents are cleaning up the streets.
△ Tonga capital Nuku'alofa, a car covered in volcanic ash.
Tonga is full of volcanic ash Chinese companies food and drinking water enough for 3 months
"At the moment, the island of Tonga is full of volcanic ash, the trees are full of dust, and the air is full of dust." According to the main station reporter, there are major problems in the local fresh water and vegetable supply. There are two ways for local people to use water, one is to collect rainwater, and the other is to be underground wells, both of which are seriously affected by volcanic ash pollution. At the same time, residents have been unable to buy fresh vegetables, and some places have insufficient food reserves, and it is expected that the supply of vegetables and other foods will be difficult to recover in a short period of time.
△ On the 19th local time, The capital of Tonga, Nuku'alofa, was significantly affected by the tsunami, and local buildings and roads were damaged to varying degrees.
In addition, the tsunami triggered by the eruption of the submarine volcano also caused the Tonga submarine communication fiber optic cable to break, and external communication was basically interrupted, and at present, it mainly relies on satellite telephones to communicate with the outside world.
According to the reporter of the main station, there are no casualties in Chinese companies and they are safe at present. Supplies and fresh water reserves are sufficient for 38 employees to use for 3 months, and local supermarkets and gas stations have resumed normal operations.
The headquarters conducted an exclusive interview with the Chinese embassy in Tanggar to make more than 1,000 Chinese citizens safe
Recently, Cao Xiaolin, The Chinese envoy to Tangda, accepted an exclusive interview with the main station via satellite phone. Ambassador Cao said that on the main island of Tonga, there are more than 1,000 Chinese citizens and company employees. After a comprehensive investigation, they are safe and living and working normally. Due to the interruption of communications between Tonga and the outside world, the Embassy has asked the Tongan government to assist in understanding the situation of Chinese citizens on the outer islands and has actively provided assistance.
In the past few days, embassy staff have visited some of the families of Chinese citizens who have been seriously affected by the disaster and provided necessary help. In addition, embassy staff have also reported safety to the relatives of Chinese citizens affected by the disaster in an appropriate way.
(CCTV News)