New Zealand says it will take ‘at least’ four weeks to repair undersea communications cables that were destroyed in Tonga’s tsunami

New Zealand has revealed that an undersea cable that was destroyed in a volcano eruption in Tonga may take at least four weeks to be repaired.

The cable was damaged during the volcanic eruption on Saturday, leaving Tonga in the dark after communications to the Pacific island were cut off from the outside world.

Houses have been destroyed and at least three have died – including a British national, according to the BBC.

Rescue efforts are continuing with teams working round the clock to to get vital supplies to the region.

“US cable company SubCom advises it will take at least four weeks for Tonga’s cable connection to be repaired,” a statement by New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministry said on Wednesday.

Tonga has been unable to establish external contact since Saturday’s violent eruption severed the country’s only underwater sea cable in two places

Scant communication has been established since then, enabled through a few satellite phones mainly held by foreign embassies in Tonga’s capital city of Nuku’alofa.

Many Tongans living abroad have nervously been waiting to hear the news from loved ones still in the country.

Telecommunications firm Digicel is expected to set up an interim 2G connection today that prioritises voice and SMS communications, the statement added.

However the connection is expected to be “limited and patchy”, covering about 10% of expected capacity.

This is not the first time Tonga’s only undersea cable has been damaged

Tonga has had its fair share of bad weather. A string of bad weather in the past, inflicted unexpected damage on the cable, causing a near total blackout of mobile and internet services for the 100,000 residents that live on the island.

Saturday’s eruption caused wide swathes of Tonga to be blanketed in thick ash, which made it impossible for relief planes to land to deliver much-needed food and drinking water.

The Tongan government has described the event as an “unprecedented disaster”

New Zealand authorities say the Tonga’s main airport runway is expected to be cleared today, after rescue teams and volunteers desperately worked to clear ash from the tarmac using wheelbarrows and shovels.