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Headline: First Images From New Zealand Air Force Show Devastation In Tonga After Volcanic Eruption

Caption: These images taken from a New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft on Monday (17January2022) are some of the first to show the devastation experienced in Tonga following the two eruptions of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano last week. The underwater volcano's eruption has left Tonga largely cut off from the world and set off a tsunami which reached the U.S. and South American coast. Tonga is comprised of 176 islands, only 36 of them inhabited, with a population of just over 104,000 people. The eruption cut off its undersea communications cable, and repairs will take some time as there is still some volcanic activity in the area. Tonga's main island Tongatapu has reported "significant infrastructural damage", according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Keywords: volcano,tonga,emergency,Pacific Ocean, Tonga, New Zealand, NZ Defence Force, sea, disaster, nature, lava, ash, volcanic, islands, rescue, search, devastation, beach

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