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New Zealand has sent a plane to Tonga to assess the damage following a major volcanic eruption that triggered a tsunami.
The eruption has covered the Pacific islands with ash, disrupting energy and communications.
Up to 80,000 people there could be affected, the Red Cross Association there told the BBC.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the tsunami had caused “significant damage” but that no deaths had been reported so far.
The underwater volcano erupted on Saturday, releasing a plume of ash into the sky and causing warnings of 1.2 meters wave. The blast was so loud that it could be heard in New Zealand, about 2,383 km from Tonga.
As the sky darkened with ashes, people in panic tried to flee by car from the lowlands.
Hours later, internet and telephone lines in Tonga were cut off, making the island’s 105,000 inhabitants almost completely inaccessible.
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