Jakarta –
Underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga impact on the tsunami. The tsunami not only hit the capital city of Nuku’alofa in Tonga, but also spread to a number of other countries.
As reported AFP, Sunday (16/1/2022) from satellite images seen the eruption of Mount Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai spewing gas and smoke into the air for several kilometers. Even the roar can be heard as far as 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) in Alaska.
The US Geological Survey noted the eruption on Saturday (15/1) was equivalent to an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8. However, the extent of the damage in Tonga is not yet clear because communication lines have been cut off.
Here is some news from a number of countries affected by the Tonga volcanic eruption:
Tsunami Tonga
In the aftermath of an underwater volcanic eruption, the Tonga Authority has issued a tsunami warning and ordered its citizens to ‘immediately’ go to higher ground.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported that there was a 1.2 meter high tsunami in Nukualofa, the capital of Tonga on Saturday (15/1). It is mentioned that the maximum recorded wave height is only 30 centimeters.
Tongans reportedly fled to higher ground leaving houses submerged in floods, some with structural damage, and with small stones and ash falling from the sky. Even Tonga’s King Tupou VI was reportedly evacuated from the Palace at Nuku’alofa and taken by convoy to a villa far from the coast.
New Zealand scientist Marco Brenna, a senior lecturer at the University of Otago’s School of Geology, described the eruption’s impact as “relatively mild” but said another eruption with a much larger impact could not be ruled out.
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