First death in Tonga volcano blast as nation remains cut off

The first death from a massive underwater volcanic blast near the Pacific island nation of Tonga has been confirmed, as the extent of the damage remained unknown Monday.

Tonga remained virtually cut off from the rest of the world, after the eruption crippled communications and stalled emergency relief efforts. It has been two days since the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano exploded, cloaking Tonga in a film of ash, triggering a Pacific-wide tsunami and releasing shock waves that wrapped around the entire Earth. But with phone lines still down and an undersea internet cable cut -- and not expected to be repaired for weeks -- the true toll of the dual eruption-tsunami disaster is not yet known.

The first known death in Tonga itself was confirmed: that of a British woman swept away by the tsunami. She was identified as Angela Glover, 50, who lived in the Tonga capital with her husband James, Glover's brother Nick Eleini told British media.

Two women also drowned Saturday in northern Peru in big waves recorded after the volcanic blast, authorities there said. Only fragments of information have filtered out via a handful of satellite phones on the islands, home to just over 100,000 people. In one of the few communications with the outside world, two stranded Mexican marine biologists made a plea for help from their government, using a satellite phone provided by the British embassy to call their family. 

Major aid agencies, who would usually rush in to provide emergency humanitarian relief, said they were stuck in a holding pattern, unable to contact local staff.

"From what little updates we have, the scale of the devastation could be immense -- especially for outlying islands," said Katie Greenwood, IFRC's Pacific Head of Delegation.

Even when relief efforts get under way, they may be complicated by Covid-19 entry restrictions. Tonga only recently reported its first-ever coronavirus case.