North Queensland Cowboys star forward and Tongan captain Jason Taumalolo has revealed the island nation is running short on food and clean drinking water following an underwater volcanic eruption.
Taumalolo, who lost contact with his family in Tonga for a week following the explosion, has pledged to use a part of his salary to aid in the recovery for Tonga, as well as send shipments of clean drinking water to the nation.
It's understood the Pacific Island nation has about 90 per cent of its land covered by ash, meaning most of the water available for drinking isn't suitable, while banks are yet to reopen, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The report also suggests Tonga has now been forced into lockdown after the recovery effort brought with it a foreign COVID case.
Taumalolo told the media that the country is "in a tough spot," before saying he would help with the relief effort out of his own pocket.
“It’s been a pretty tough off-season given everything that’s happened, especially for my people back in Tonga,” Taumalolo said.
“A lot of the damage has been caused by the tsunami but also the ash-flow that happened after the volcano.
“I think they said about 90 per cent of Tonga was covered in ash. They don’t have much drinking water over there and much food supplies.
“They don’t have banks up and running so they can’t get money to buy supplies.
“They’re kind of in a tough spot at the moment.”
The NRL have confirmed they are looking at ways to help Tonga, while the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors previously announced they are set to play a relief match for Tonga when they meet for a pre-season trial on February 19 at Casey Fields in Cranbourne.
