On Saturday, January 17, the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai erupted violently, producing what satellite images showed to be a 5 km wide and 20 km high plume of ash. The eruption, which is said to have been one of the biggest in the world in the last 30 years, triggered a 1.2 meter high tsunami, that crashed ashore in coastal areas of Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, as well as several other low-lying Tongan islands.
While overseas communications has been a challenge, concerns about water supply, air quality and availability of fuel have been raised, in part due to volcanic ash that is 5-10 cm thick in some areas.
Based on first estimates, 84% of the population has been affected by the volcanic eruption and tsunami, while almost all (99%) are impacted by the volcanic ash.
UNICEF is mobilizing emergency supplies prepositioned in the Australian humanitarian warehouse in Brisbane and the UNICEF warehouse in Fiji for immediate deployment to Tonga.
Please consider making a gift to support the children and families in Tonga. Thank you for joining UNICEF USA to protect every child.
