It's a pandemic predicament. Tongans are desperate for help after the volcanic eruption — but with only one recorded case of COVID-19 in their island nation, they’re also eager to keep the virus out.
The eruption severed Tonga's single fiber-optic cable, rendering the entire Pacific archipelago offline and unable to communicate with the rest of the world.
The loss of an undersea cable leaves most Tongans unable to use the internet or make phone calls abroad. Those who have managed to get messages out described their country as looking like a moonscape as they began cleaning up from the tsunami waves and volcanic ash.
The tsunami threat around the Pacific from a huge undersea volcanic eruption receded Sunday, but the massive ash cloud covering the tiny island nation of Tonga prevented surveillance flights from New Zealand to assess the extent of damage.
The tsunami threat around the Pacific from a huge undersea volcanic eruption began to recede late Saturday into Sunday, while the extent of damage to Tonga remained unclear.
A large explosion outside the international airport in Somalia’s capital killed at least eight people and wounded nine others on Wednesday, a local doctor said.
New York City authorities have revised down the number of people who died in a five-alarm fire inside a Bronx high-rise building on Sunday. Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that 17 people lost their lives in the fire, including eight children.
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