Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 25: India on Tuesday, announced a $200,000 grant for rescue, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts in Tonga, which was devastated by a catastrophic volcanic eruption and tsunami on January 15.
Tsunami waves were blasted across the Pacific Ocean by the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano, which was heard 2,300 kilometers away in New Zealand. The volcanic outburst was hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bomb unleashed on Hiroshima by the United States during World War II, according to NASA.
Large swaths of Tonga’s population were affected by the tsunami, which also wreaked havoc on the country’s infrastructure. According to information released by Tonga’s emergency department on Sunday, the death toll from the volcanic eruption and tsunami has grown to six.
“As a close friend and partner under the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and as a gesture of solidarity with the friendly people of Tonga, Government of India extends an immediate relief assistance of US$ 200,000 to support relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the Kingdom of Tonga,” said the external affairs ministry in a statement.
India has expressed its condolences to Tonga’s government and people for the devastation inflicted by the extraordinary calamity.
According to NASA, the volcanic explosion “obliterated” a volcanic island north of Nuku’alofa, Tonga’s capital. The tsunami and volcanic ash harmed more than four-fifths of Tonga’s population, according to officials.
