Tonga struggles with ash, psychological trauma after eruption and tsunami - Reuters

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Families have stopped children playing outside as Tonga struggles to deal with ash and the psychological fallout of last week's volcanic eruption and tsunami, aid workers and residents said.

The Red Cross said it was providing not only tents, food, water and toilets to 173 households on Tonga's main island, but also comfort.

"Everyone is still struggling right now," said Drew Havea, the vice president of Tonga Red Cross.

The eruption of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano, which sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean and was heard some 2,300 kms (1,430 miles) away in New Zealand.

"I think the whole island, we are in shock," Mary Lyn Fonua, the managing editor of news website Matangi Tonga Online, told Reuters on Sunday.

With power restored after a week, the Matangi Tonga website posted its first story on Saturday since the eruption and tsunami, describing the "pumice rain", as volcanic debris fell from the sky, and waves that engulfed cars.