Conditions hinder communications and surveillance of towns believed to have been overwhelmed by waves
A thick blanket of ash from a huge undersea volcanic eruption has covered the Pacific Island nation of Tonga, contaminating water supplies, cutting off communications and preventing surveillance flights assessing the extent of damage from tsunami waves that are believed to have inundated entire towns.
Videos shared on social media after Saturday night’s eruption showed people running for higher ground as the metre-high floods hit coastal areas and made their way inland while the sky darkened with ash. A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska.
