Australia provides aid to Tonga after eruption disaster 0:49
(CNN) --
A powerful volcanic eruption and tsunami near Tonga have caused "an unprecedented disaster," the Pacific nation's leader said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has warned of new eruptions that could complicate the delivery of aid to remote islands where communications do not work.
In its first official update since the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai undersea volcano on Saturday, the Tonga government on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of three people and several more injuries, and described the scale of the destruction of communities.
Moment when tsunami reaches Tonga and civilians seek to escape 0:36
Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said all houses on Mango Island, where 36 people live, had been destroyed.
Only two houses remain on Fonoifua Island and extensive damage was reported on Nomuka Island, home to 239 people, he said.
"An unprecedented disaster hit Tonga," Sovaleni said.
And he added that a "volcanic fungus column" spread to cover the country's approximately 170 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, affecting the entire population of more than 100,000 people.
According to experts, the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano was probably the largest volcanic event on record since Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991.
On Tuesday, New Zealand's Foreign Ministry warned that more eruptions of the volcano would likely occur, posing a tsunami risk.
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Large tracts of land in Tonga are covered in volcanic ash, in this photo taken on January 17, 2022.
The estimate was based on models from GNS Science, a New Zealand geological research institute, the ministry said.
"The most likely scenario is ongoing eruptions in the coming days or weeks, with ongoing tsunami risk for Tonga and New Zealand," he said.
Saturday's eruption generated tsunami waves up to 49 feet (15 meters) high that hit the west coast of Tonga's main island, Tongatapu, and 'Eua and Ha'api islands.
A United Nations spokesman said an initial assessment by Tongan authorities found that 100 houses were damaged and 50 destroyed on Tongatapu, the country's main island, home to most of the population.
There are no open evacuation centers on the main island, and most of the people who were displaced are staying with extended families.
In the USA, 89 people are in evacuation centers, the spokesman said, adding that information from the outer islands remains scant.
Race to bring aid to Tonga
The first details of the devastation emerged Tuesday after Tonga's Pacific neighbors Australia and New Zealand conducted reconnaissance flights to the archipelago, a three- to five-hour journey.
Eruption in Tonga: natural disaster or climate change?
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The photos show entire island communities that were once lush and green, now covered in thick gray ash.
Many houses appear damaged or completely destroyed.
Widespread stagnant saltwater pools, along with volcanic ash, are contaminating drinking water sources, according to the Red Cross.
Aid delivery was hampered by ashfall covering the runway at Tonga's Fua'amotu International Airport, forcing New Zealand to send two navy ships to help with recovery, but they won't arrive until Friday. .
With cleanup efforts underway, rescuers are rushing to bring clean water to the island nation as it struggles with shortages.
"Ensuring access to safe drinking water is an immediate critical priority," said Katie Greenwood, head of the Pacific delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, pointing to the growing risk of diarrhea and diseases such as anger.
covid-19 risk
Tonga has reported just one case of coronavirus during the pandemic, and there are concerns the nation could see its first outbreak if aid workers bring the virus with them from countries where the omicron variant is spreading rapidly.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will not send international relief teams to Tonga due to the risk of bringing COVID-19 into the community, according to Sean Casey, WHO Pacific COVID-19 incident manager.
Alaska heard volcano eruption near Tonga 0:53
Tonga has done "extremely well" in terms of vaccination, with more than 80% of the population fully vaccinated, Casey said.
The country closed its borders to international travelers near the start of the pandemic and has used this time to prepare its population and health care systems for an outbreak, it added.
"We have a lot of natural disasters in this part of the world and you don't want to be dealing with multiple emergencies at the same time, if that can be avoided," Casey said.
The WHO is still working to send supplies to Tonga, including telecommunications tools such as satellite phones, water sanitation equipment, and materials to repair and build shelters.
"Everyone in Tonga, every family in the city is affected by this," Casey said.
"That's always the case in the Pacific. The numbers seem very small, but the proportional impact on a very small country is huge."
Tonga is largely isolated from the world
Tonga's communication systems remain severely limited after damage to a key undersea cable cut off international and inter-island calls, New Zealand's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
According to the ministry, an international mobile network provider has set up a temporary system in Tongatapu using a satellite dish, which could restore 2G connections.
But this "will be limited and irregular", the ministry said.
Many Tongans living outside the country now face a daunting wait to reconnect with loved ones back home as rescuers try to salvage the submarine cable.
Repairs aren't expected to start until February 1, and it may take another two weeks to restore the cable after that, according to a company helping with the work.
Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua, the nation's flag bearer in Tokyo last year, said on Instagram that he had been unable to communicate with his father, the governor of the Ha'apai Islands.
Shirtless Tongan flag bearer provides aid after volcano 1:30
"Just received word that our family on the main island of Haapai is safe and our home in Ha'apai, 'Fuino,' is still standing! It is over 100 years old and has been through many cyclones and now by a tsunami," Taufatofua said Wednesday.
"There is still no word from my father or our family on Kotu and the surrounding low-lying islands."
The taekwondoin, who is at a training camp in Australia, has started a fundraising page for rescue efforts that has raised more than $300,000 in donations as of Wednesday.
Tongan-Australian artist and activist Seini Taumoepeau told Reuters that "your worst fear is always never seeing the people you love again."
He added that he has not had contact with anyone from Tonga since before the tsunami.
The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of Tonga's Fonuafo'ou Island, sits underwater between two small islands at about 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) in elevation from the bottom of the sea, with approximately 328 feet (100 meters) visible above sea level.
The researchers said it has erupted regularly for the past few decades.
The most recent eruption began in December 2021, with plumes of gas, steam, and ash rising about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) into the air.
The volcano erupted again on January 14 and the massive eruption on January 15 sent shock waves around the world and triggered tsunami waves that were felt thousands of miles away, killing at least two people in Peru.
Tonga