In the Kingdom of Tonga, where the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Haapai underwater volcano erupted on January 14 and provoked a tsunami, two people are missing, the fate of another 105 local residents remains unknown. Radio New Zealand reported this on Tuesday.

After the tsunami, the capital of the island nation, Nuku'alofa, was badly damaged, as well as part of the resorts and settlements in the west of the island. On the Hihifo Peninsula, the entire coastline was completely destroyed, including residential buildings in one of the villages, TASS reports.

The emergency beacon worked in the area of ​​two small inhabited islands located in the central part of the archipelago. Communication with them was lost on January 15 and it has not yet been restored. The fate of local residents - and this is 105 people - is unknown.

It is also noted that most of the islands of the archipelago are covered with ash. Communication of the Kingdom of Tonga with the outside world is severely limited due to damage to the submarine cable.

The volcano, which last erupted in 2014, was active for about a month before the 1,000-degree Celsius magma met with 20-degree seawater, causing an instantaneous and powerful explosion, according to University of Auckland volcanologist Shane Cronin. "The force of the explosion suggests that this is probably the largest eruption since 1991," - said the scientist.

bbabo.Net