The volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted on Friday 14 January 2022 ©Tonga Geological Services
A tsunami alert has been issued in several Pacific archipelagos following the eruption of an undersea volcano off the coast of Tonga. Waves up to one meter high hit the Tonga Islands.
Tsunami warning from Japan to the United States: threat over but significant damage in Tonga
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano Friday, which is located on one of the uninhabited islands of the archipelago, about 65 kilometers from the capital, Nuku’alofa, caused a tsunami that flooded the coasts of the Pacific, from Japan to the United States through Peru.
The main threat seems to have passed, but the tsunami triggered by the spectacular eruption of a volcano in the Tonga Islands has caused significant damage in Nuku’alofa, the capital of the archipelago.
“The tsunami had a significant impact on the northern coast of Nuku’alofa, with boats and large rocks washed ashore,” but no casualties were reported, said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday, January 16, without specifying whether there had been any damage on the other islands of the archipelago.
Then late Saturday afternoon, local time, the warning for a previous tsunami, which had not exceeded 30 cm, had just been lifted when a second eruption occurred. Waves up to 1.20 meters high were observed in Nuki’alofa, in the capital of Tonga. This caused extensive flooding in residential areas of Nuku’alofa. Water entered buildings and homes as residents sought shelter on higher ground.
The sky of the archipelago took unreal colors, due to the important presence of gas in the atmosphere. supplies. Authorities also advised the general population to stay indoors as much as possible, to wear masks if they had to go out and, again, to protect all water supplies.
The eruption triggered tsunamis in the Pacific, with waves of 1.74 meters measured in Chañaral, Chile, caused flooding as far away as the port of Santa Cruz (California), and smaller waves were observed along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. Waves of about 1.2 meters hit the Pacific coast of Japan.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded Saturday’s eruption as equivalent to a magnitude 5.8 earthquake at zero depth. The eruption was so powerful that it was even heard in Alaska, tweeted the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks.
