Communications with tsunami hit Tonga remain severely limited following a huge undersea volcano eruption.
Reports emerging from the Pacific region suggest a single underwater cable that connects the island country was most probably severed in the eruption.
Although widespread disaster appears to have been avoided, a thick coat of ash has covered Tonga’s main island of Tongatapu.
With communications inoperable an accurate assessment of the tsunami’s impact on the country’s smaller islands remains difficult with satellite phone proving the best option.
The United Nations has reported that no official contact has been made with the small low-lying islands of Mango and Fonai.
The organization adds that restoring international phone line connections and Internet services remains complicated due to the apparent severance of the communications cable lying on the seabed.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has received a request to restore communication lines in Tonga by deploying its Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC).
ETC teams help to restore mobile networks and internet connectivity to affected populations, while also setting up security systems or getting radio stations back on air.
The ETC brings together 29 organizations from the humanitarian, private and government sectors which work to provide shared communications services in emergencies.
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