On Monday, Australia and New Zealand sent surveillance planes to Tonga, which was cut off from the rest of the world when an underwater volcano erupted, triggering a tsunami and blanketing the Pacific island in ash.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised to help Tonga as soon as possible, but said relief operations had been delayed by volcanic ash.
“There’s been a lot of issues there with the ash cloud and the disruption to communications,” Morrison said on Monday, “so we’re working together to send as much support to Tonga as we reasonably can.”
“There is no present volcanic activity, and the volcano is not spewing ash,” Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said in an emailed statement on Monday. It said that the ash that had reached Queensland, Australia, originated from a previous eruption.
Initial reports revealed no mass casualties, and Tonga’s airport “appears to be in pretty fair condition,” but there was “severe damage” to roads and bridges, according to Australia’s Pacific Minister Zed Seselja.
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