The Eruption of the Tonga Volcano Equivalent to 1,000 US Nuclear Bombs on Hiroshima

NUKUALOFA – Two Australian scientists say an underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga equivalent to 1,000 nuclear bombs United States (US) that destroyed Hiroshima, Japan.

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano on Saturday night triggered a tsunami in the Pacific region.

The underwater volcano is about 50 kilometers from Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa. However, the capital city was pitch black covered in volcanic ash.

Also read: Effects of Volcanic Eruption: Tonga Significantly Damaged, Tsunami Hits Pacific

Two scientists who described the devastating effects of the eruption were Brian Schmidt; Nobel prize-winning scientist and vice-chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU), and Professor Richard Arculus; renowned expert in the Research School of Earth Sciences at the ANU College of Science.

The two scientists wrote their analysis in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday (17/1/2022).

There have been no reports of casualties or injuries in Tonga due to the eruption and tsunami because the communication network there is still cut off. However, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacina Ardern, who managed to make contact with her embassy in Tonga, said the Pacific nation had suffered significant damage.

“In a unique first, the whole world witnessed a tremendous explosion real-time of a new generation of high-resolution weather satellites, demonstrating in detail their devastating power and scale,” the two scientists wrote in their article.

The volcanic eruption spewed mushroom clouds which quickly covered the eruption area and the Nuku’alofa area. The speed of the mushroom cloud bursts, according to the two scientists, equivalent to twice the speed of sound.

“Sound waves were seen spreading across the Pacific at a speed of 1,200 kilometers per hour,” the scientists continued.

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