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Eruption of the volcano Tonga, on January 13th, was among the most violent and destructive ever, despite the fact that the volcano exploded in the depths of the sea. Simon Proud, of the University of Oxford, was able to calculate that the emitted material reached an altitude of 39 kilometers above the sea.
From this point of view, if the data are confirmed, it is a record: never, since man records these phenomena, had volcanic ash reached such an altitude. The world of rugby is also experiencing hours of anxiety about the situation in Tonga.
In the last hours, after days of total blackout due to the collapse of communications, the first information is arriving from the islands. Vaingalo Fine, third line of Alghero, club of Italian Rugby Serie A, said to Italian newspaper Nuova Sardegna: "I stayed on the phone for hours looking for news from anyone who could help me, then luckily my parents managed to write me on social networks who are alive and well.
I am happy that one of the most famous Tongans in the world, Malakai Fekitoa, has taken steps to raise funds for reconstruction, the situation in Tonga is very serious."
Rugby players from Tonga worried about the explosion of the volcano
Viliami Vaki, 45-year-old former player of Italian team Valurgby who is part of the team's technical staff said to Gazzetta Reggio: "In Tonga I have parents, three sisters and their children.
For four days I didn't know anything, then another sister who lives in Australia told me she managed to talk to them. They managed to escape 10 minutes before the tsunami destroyed the house. They survived but the devastation is total.
The ash has covered everything, the water is polluted, the crops destroyed. I hope the world helps my country. " James Faiva, from Petrarca club, added to Italian newspaper il Mattino: "After so much anxiety I learned that my relatives, who almost all live in Tonga, have been saved.
My village is one kilometer from the sea and has been almost completely destroyed. People have lost everything, it's a disaster. The archipelago of Tonga is made up of small islands whose terrain reaches a few meters above sea level, so the tsunami made it easy to wipe out everything. Let's hope that the reconstruction starts. soon, we are a friendly and humble people. "
