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BEIJING, Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Chinese businessman Yu Hongtao is in Tonga. During his interview with CGTN, he

said dust is everywhere on the island.

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJjyJg1sKVM

"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