Leaked New Zealand military photos show scale of damage caused by Tonga volcano eruption

The 40 aerial pictures show some areas blanketed with ash, with damaged buildings, while others show parts of the country that appear unscathed.

They were taken by the New Zealand defence force during a reconnaissance flight on Monday and put together in a report for the Tongan government. The photos were then leaked online. The Guardian has confirmed the provenance of the photos.

After the reconnaissance flight, the New Zealand defence force shared a handful of photos with media, most of them showing defence personnel at work, rather than shots of the islands. The 40 leaked images paint a much fuller picture of the damage to the country, and include annotations about the severity of damage.

Many areas were assessed as having limited damage, such as ash on building roofs, pools of surface flooding or debris.

However, the defence force noted that an operation to clear ash from the runway was under way, with vehicles and people visible from the air.

It may be weeks before the cable can be repaired, due to difficulty getting the repair ship from Papua New Guinea to Tonga, and safety concerns for the crew of the ship, who would be operating in waters not far from the volcano, meaning Tongans around the world may be forced to wait weeks for regular contact to resume.

There have been no official confirmations of casualties from Tongan authorities, but the family of Angela Glover, a British woman living in Tonga who went missing in the tsunami, reported on Monday that her body had been found. The 50-year-old, who had been living in Tonga since about 2015, was swept away by the tsunami.

The Australian defence force also sent a surveillance plane on Monday, to assess damage to critical infrastructure such as roads, ports and power lines.

Australia and New Zealand have each pledged $1m in initial aid to Tonga. New Zealand has dispatched two naval ships carrying water and other aid supplies.