A week on from twin natural disasters in Tonga, and many of the island’s diaspora are still anxiously awaiting word from their loved ones.

Some communication is just now starting to be restored after last Saturday’s undersea volcanic eruption and deadly tsunami severed lines, cutting the island off from the rest of the world.

But it could be weeks before communications are fully back online.

CGTN’s Toni Waterman traveled to Euless, Texas, which has one of the largest Tongan communities in the U.S. to see how families are coping with being so far from their loved ones.