with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and a significantly clean up will be needed. nuku alofa is covered in a thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise, conditions are calm and stable. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. i m joined now by anna jane lagi, a tongan university student studying in neighbouring fiji. thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. in the first instance can ijust want the programme. in the first instance can i just want to ask the programme. in the first instance can ijust want to ask if the programme. in the first instance can i just want to ask if your family, friends, have you heard from them? are t
i ve been speaking to anna jane lagi, a tongan university student in neighbouring fiji, who began by sharing some good news. idid hear i did hearjust an hour before this interview that my mum and my siblings are good and hopefully my dad and my auntie as well. we were able to contact them by asking someone who was working at a place where they have a satellite phone, and they were able to contact a few family members and get back to us, but they are safe. and get back to us, but they are safe- are safe. that is excellent news, are safe. that is excellent news. so are safe. that is excellent news. so happy are safe. that is excellent news, so happy to - are safe. that is excellent news, so happy to hear. are safe. that is excellent i news, so happy to hear that. are safe. that is excellent - news, so happy to hear that. it must be such a worrying time for the tongan community, obviously notjust on the island nation, but in fiji, which has i understand it, has quite a sizeable tonga
and blankets and lamps and things like that, urgent equipment. they ll be distributing that as required to people. we are also really keen to understand what the impact is on clean drinking water and on food gardens. the eruption was felt much further than tonga. it triggered a tsunami warning across the pacific in new zealand and australia, the us and even chile, nearly 10,000 kilometres away. according to reuters, two people drowned off a beach in northern peru because of high waves from the tsunami. boats in new zealand were also damaged. while this was the fijian capital, suva. huge waves crashed onto shore causing some flooding. anna jane lagi, is a tongan student in fiji and explains the concerns in tonga. the most pressing concern would be the water. a lot of tongans collect rain in their tanks and boil them for drinking water but that has been contaminated by the asphalt up a lot of housing needs to be fixed so that s what were looking
fired the rabbi, talking about the ordeal that he and three other hostages had to go through. let s get more on the situation in the pacific island nation of tonga following the eruption of an underwater volcano and subsequent tsunami. tongan national anna jane lagi is a student on nearby fiji. she s been telling tim willcox that ash from the volcano has enveloped the tongan mainland. one of the descriptions that had come was that you could sink almost your hand, whole hand into how thick the layer of ash is, so we have to wear masks to keep safe because the air is not good. the water systems are contaminated, so everyone has to stock up on water which is not something they would normally do since we collect and boil rainwater. as well as the vulnerable groups and just people whose houses were ruined, because the western side of the island was heavily damaged, that it is a few of the pressing issues for now. how many people are affected?
and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights, it remains very unclear how bad the situation on the island really is. rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. i ve been speaking to anna jane lagi, a tongan university student in neighbouring fiji, who began by sharing some good news. i did hearjust an hour before this interview that my mum and my siblings are good, and hopefully my dad and my auntie as well. we were able to contact them by asking someone who was working at a place where they have a satellite phone. they were able to contact a few family members and get back to us that they are safe. that is excellent news, and i am so happy to hear that. it must be such a worrying time