Tongans in Australia are eagerly awaiting updates following volcanic eruptions, tsunamis

Queensland man Mosese Sitapa was video calling his four-year-old son, Elone, yesterday as the tsunami hit their home in Tonga.

He tried to warn his family to get to higher terrain, but it was too late.

“I just talked to him and he kept playing with his toys. It was so sad,” he said.

He has not heard from Elone or his mother since.

An underwater volcano erupted 65 km north of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa at 16.10 yesterday afternoon ADST and sprayed ash 20 km high.

The eruption triggered tsunami warnings around the Pacific Ocean, with images from Tonga showing a wave of waves.

The impact cut off communication, leaving Australians desperately worried.

Isabella Fenech, 18, from Newcastle, NSW, spoke on the phone to her sister at the time, saying she felt “helpless”.

“It was really loud, everything was shaking,” she told 9News.

“It sounded like hail, but it was all ash and rocks, and you could hear massive explosions, they sounded like fireworks.”

She stayed up all night waiting for news.

In Sydney, there has been nothing from Pastor Matahavea Hiliau’s sister since yesterday.

Her sister’s home is on the beach and she hopes she’s reached higher.

The pastor said she left messages in hopes that her sister would get the Internet restored to get in touch.

Pastor Charissa Suli said she had started a prayer chain.

“Know how our families live in Tonga with so little to imagine what they are going through right now, especially at night,” she said.

Milika Loko-tui is a seasonal worker in Western Australia and is worried about her son

Pastor Matahavea Hiliau of the Northern Beaches Uniting Church said that the “hearts of her congregation are with our people in Tonga”.

In southern Australia, Mino Sikalu has not heard from her family since yesterday afternoon, when her mother and sister fled to higher ground on the main island of Tongatapu.

To try to help the local community cope, a service was held today.

About 20 local Tongans were gathered to pray.

Fijian islands hit by water

Some of Fiji’s islands were hit by a monster tidal wave.

Even hospitals had to be evacuated, fearing for them on low-lying islands.

Some flights from Sydney this morning were canceled due to the ash cloud from the eruption.

Australia will send a surveillance plane from Brisbane tomorrow, while New Zealand will also send planes.