Breaking News English

A cleanup operation has [beginning / begun] in Tonga after the island nation was hit by a tsunami and covered [on / in] volcanic ash at the weekend. The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai undersea volcano [erupted / eruption] on Saturday. Experts believe it was the world's biggest volcanic eruption in [over / more] 30 years. It sent tsunami waves across the Pacific to Japan and the U.S. [coastal / coast] . It also destroyed large [part / parts] of Tonga. Islanders are now trying to restore services and [normal / normality] life to the country. However, the ash is [making / made] this difficult. A lot of the rescue and recovery work cannot [come / go] ahead until the ash has been cleared. It has buried many buildings. It is also blocking many [of / to] the country's roads.

Tonga's government called the [erupt / eruption] from the volcano and the tsunami "unprecedented". It said the twin disasters have [severely / severe] affected life on the island. There is no Internet [but / because] the only underwater cable connecting Tonga to the World Wide Web was cut [at / by] the eruption. Engineers are [trying / tried] to restore full communications. It is also difficult to [fly / flight] aid into the country because the airport is damaged. Tonga's government is worried that rescue [effects / efforts] may bring COVID-19 [into / onto] the country. Tonga shut its borders to international arrivals in 2020. It said it was "covid-free" before the tsunami. It now [afraid / fears] international aid workers could bring a "tsunami [of / on] COVID-19" into the country.