Tongan nationals residing in Samoa are hopeful they will soon hear from their loved ones in the island kingdom following last Saturday's volcanic eruption and tsunami disasters.

Two students at The University of the South Pacific (U.S.P.) Samoa Campus, Vainga Fonua and Sola Feao, told the Samoa Observer they have not heard from their families and friends in Tonga since Saturday.

"When we heard the announcement on Facebook saying tsunami warnings because of the volcano eruptions, all of us were so scared,” said Mr Fonua.

“And at the same time, we were trying to contact our families to see if they are okay.

A resident of the Ha'apai group of islands, Mr. Feao said he is worried about the safety of his family, as his mother had left the island to go for a wedding, leaving behind his siblings and father prior to the eruption.

"Since I heard the warning of the tsunami and eruption of the volcano in Ha'apai in Tonga, I tried to contact my family back in Tonga because my mom she is on the main island,” he told the Samoa Observer.

“She went there for a wedding and all my siblings and my dad were back in Ha'apai. 

“I tried to contact them but I haven't got any connection or talked to them about how they are.

"But I was worried and scared, my island Ha'apai is one of those islands in Tonga. 

“All I am thinking is [...] a tsunami goes straight to Ha'apai, the islands might sink and affect all of Ha'apai.”

After a two-day wait, Mr. Feao said he finally got an update on the Ha’apai islands and reports suggest only properties close to the coast were affected. 

“But hopefully that my family back in Ha'apai are fine,” he said.

Hailing from the Tongan island of Vava’u, Mr Fonua said his island home was not really affected like the others.  

He said they continued to pray for communication to be restored so they can reconnect with their families and while there are plans to send relief supplies back home, contact needs to be re-established with the country first. 

"I would like to say, I love everyone and not only us here in Samoa who are devastated at what happened, but for sure all of those in Australia and New Zealand, other countries, we all feel the same,” he said. 

For the representative of the Tongan community in Samoa, Ofa Kaisamy, the eruption last Saturday also coincided with her mother’s 64th birthday and they have not heard from the family back home.

"There is limited to no communication directly with our loved ones and it's like living in the unknown for us, not hearing from them," she said. 

"So the whole weekend was like living in fear, it's like living the unknown, not hearing directly from them and not knowing what's going on with them.

“There's a lot of concerns, a lot of doubt, a lot of fear and anxiety.” 

Mrs Kaisamy told the Samoa Observer that she was on the phone with her sister in Tonga, checking on the arrangements to celebrate their mother’s birthday, when the phone went dead at around 5.45pm (local time) on Saturday.

“I spoke to my sister around I think it was 5.45pm that afternoon and they were expecting my parents,” she said.

“I live 20 minutes away from town and she was expecting my parents to come for dinner because it was my mom's birthday on Saturday.

"And so I messaged her it was close to 6pm and I said have they arrived at your house and she told me that she couldn't get out now, they have been advised to stay in and so that was it and the line went off.

"We really don't know what's going on with our loved ones in Tonga and it's the same for the community."

On Sunday the Tongan community in Samoa held a prayer meeting at the U.S.P. Samoa Campus, which Mrs Kaisamy said is the only thing they can do now as communication is yet to be established.

I think the first priority for us is to speak to them first and then we will organise something, some kind of assistance," she said.

"But I know now that the Governments of New Zealand and Australia are actually deploying assistance as of today to the people of Tonga.

"I think we have to hold fast to our faith right now, that's the only thing we can do right now is to hold fast and just be faithful that our loved ones are okay.

"Every little information that we get out of the internet, it really helps with assurance that our families are okay."

Mrs. Kaisamy also asked the people of Samoa to pray for her people and provide support through words of encouragement.