Shirtless Tongan flag bearer provides aid after volcano 1:30
(CNN) --
The fundraising campaign created by Tonga's Olympic flag bearer Pita Taufatofua has received more than $310,000 following Saturday's massive volcanic eruption.
Known for showing off his oiled chest during the opening ceremonies of the Summer and Winter Olympics, Taufatofua created a GoFundMe fundraising campaign on Monday after the disaster, verified by CNN.
According to the GoFundMe page, the funds will go "to those most in need", as well as to repair infrastructure and schools and hospitals that were damaged.
Tonga faces "unprecedented disaster";
New Zealand warns of new eruptions and tsunami risk
"As everyone knows, a huge tsunami caused by a volcanic eruption devastated Tonga... We are looking for your donations to help our island kingdom," reads the fundraising page.
"Your assistance and support in this time of need is greatly appreciated."
Describing the eruption as an "unprecedented disaster", Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni added that a "volcanic mushroom plume" has spread to cover all of the country's approximately 170 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, affecting to the entire population of more than 100,000 people.
Tonga is facing an "unprecedented disaster";
New Zealand warns of new eruptions and tsunami risk
Taufatofua, a taekwondo and cross-country skier, posted on Instagram on Wednesday that he still hasn't heard from his father, the governor of Haapai, who was on the main island of Tongatapu at the time of the eruption.
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Taufatofua, however, added in the post that his family home on Haapai Island is still standing.
"I just received word that our family on the main island of Haapai is safe and our house on Ha'apai 'Fuino' is still standing. It is over 100 years old and has been through many cyclones and now a tsunami Taufatofua wrote.
"There is still no word from my father or our family on Kotu and the surrounding low-lying islands."
Pita Taufatofua of Tonga takes the stage during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium on February 25, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.
Flag bearers Malia Paseka and Pita Taufatofua lead the Tongam team out during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium on July 23, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
olympic hero
Taufatofua represented Tonga in taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and in cross-country skiing at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018.
What made him go viral, however, were the images of him appearing at the 2016 opening ceremony, shirtless, greased and wearing a traditional Tongan mat around his waist while waving his country's flag.
In South Korea, two years later, braving the cold, Taufatofua did it again.
And at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Taufatofua once again delighted fans, appearing shirtless and greased with the Tongan flag, but with a co-flag-bearer, Malia Maile Paseka, who competed in taekwondo.
Pita Taufatofua at the Olympics
Taufatofua had been training for taekwondo, as well as trying to qualify for speed kayaking for the 2020 Games, a sport he signed up for as a nod to his ancestors, as well as for environmental reasons.
"I want to raise awareness about the oceans, about our planet, and make people see that what's happening on our planet is something that we all need to be aware of," Taufatofua told CNN Sports' Amanda Davies.
"I love being in the ocean, in the sea. It's a sport that excites me. I haven't learned it yet, but at the same time it excites me."
However, he failed to qualify in the speed kayak, so he competed solely in taekwondo.
Nonetheless, Taufatofua made history by becoming the first person to have competed in three consecutive Olympic Games since the introduction of the Winter Games in 1924.
In his GoFundMe post, Taufatofua, 38, said he is currently in "training camp in Australia."
volcano tonga
