Sharjah24 – Reuters: Australia and New Zealand dispatched surveillance flights on Monday to assess the damage in Tonga, isolated from the rest of the world due to the eruption of an underwater volcano that triggered a tsunami and blanketed the Pacific island with ash.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged to provide support for Tonga as early as possible but said the volcano ash had hampered relief efforts.
"There's been a lot of challenges there with the ash cloud and the disruption to communications and so we are working together to get as much support to Tonga as we possibly can," Morrison told radio station 2GB on Monday.
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology told Reuters in an emailed statement on Monday there was "no current volcanic activity, and the volcano is not spewing ash". It said ash that had reached the Australian state of Queensland was from a previous eruption.
Australia's Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja said initial reports suggested no mass casualties and that Tonga's airport "appears to be in relatively good condition" but there were "significant damage" to roads and bridges.
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