Saturday, January 15, 2022

Huge Pacific Undersea Volcanic Eruption And Tsunami

 

A tsunami warning has been issued for the West Coast and Alaska, as well as Australia and New Zealand, following an enormous undersea volcanic eruption today approximately 40 miles from the island nation of Tonga in the South Pacific.  Via BBC:

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano was heard across the South Pacific, reportedly as far as New Zealand and Australia.

Tonga's capital lies just 65km north of the volcano, on the country's main island of Tongatapu. [snip]

Locals said the eruption sounded like rumbling thunder, followed by dark skies as volcanic clouds began "raining ash and tiny pebbles".

Many parts of Tonga are experiencing a near-total blackout of power, phone lines and internet services, meaning information is scarce. But videos on social media showed large traffic jams as people tried to flee to higher ground by car.

The initial eight-minute eruption was so violent it could be heard as "loud thunder sounds" in Fiji, more than 800km (500 miles) away, according to officials in the capital, Suva. The Fijian Government has issued a tsunami advisory and opened evacuation centres for people in low-lying coastal areas.

Vanuatu, another island nation in the Pacific, issued a similar warning.

Prof Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at the University of Auckland, said the eruption was one of the biggest in Tonga in the past 30 years.

Sonic booms from the eruption were heard as far away as New Zealand, over 1,400 miles away.

Here's satellite imagery of the eruption and video of the tsunami hitting Tonga:

 

 

 

 

Eruption's sonic boom hitting Fiji, nearly 500 miles away --

 

 

 

No word at this time about deaths or casualties.


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