BEIJING, Jan. 21, 2022 /CNW/ -- Chinese businessman
Yu Hongtao is in Tonga. During his
interview with CGTN, he said dust is everywhere on the island.
"What I've seen so far is everyone is involved in emergency
rescue and disaster relief operations," Yu said. "Almost everyone
is wearing a mask. Volcanic ash is on the streets because the
ashfall lasted several hours. The ground is covered in ash,
including vegetation and people's houses."
"Some volunteers have been cleaning up the roads, but not yet in
the woods. People have just been clearing the roads," he said.
Regarding the living conditions, including water, electricity
and food supplies in Tonga, Yu
things have not returned to normal yet, but there has been
improvement in some areas.
He said electricity was restored in many areas within a day
after the eruption knocked out power. Also, after dawn, on the day
of the eruption, everyone restocked on supplies.
"I personally stocked up on water and then food and more water,"
he said.
"We have enough supplies here. There isn't any bottled water at
supermarkets now, but other supplies are still available."
Vegetables are not available at the moment. Yu said his friend
who works in agriculture told him that people on the island won't
have fresh vegetables for more than a month. As for fruits, he
said, "There aren't much on the island, to begin with, only some
watermelons. But even this has become scarce now."
"I don't think life has gotten back to normal," Yu told
CGTN.
He said the deputy prime minister has declared a state of
emergency, and Tongans are joining disaster relief efforts and
cleaning up volcanic ash on the roads.
"If they're not cleaned up, they'll fly back into the air when
vehicles drive past, and they'll land on rooftops," he said.
"Drinking water in Tonga comes
directly from the rain. Every household has a rainwater harvester
installed on their roofs, so we have to make sure that all the ash
is cleaned up."
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-01-21/CGTN-exclusive-interview-with-Chinese-businessman-in-Tonga-16Z8jjeEew8/index.html
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SOURCE CGTN