The volcano, located 65 kilometers north of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga, started to spew ash, steam and gas since yesterday morning. The islanders were asked by the authorities to move to the higher areas. Huge waves hit the shore in Nuku’alofa after the tsunami warning after the explosion. Many residential areas were also flooded. There were floods in a church and some houses in the city.
TSUNAMI WAVE REACHED 83 CENTERS
According to the statement made by the US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the tsunami wave reached 83 centimeters in Nuku’alofa.
SATELLITE IMAGES PUBLISHED
A satellite image of the Hunga Tonga volcano eruption has also been released.
REACHED TO JAPAN
The volcanic eruption in the island country Tonga, located in the Pacific Ocean, caused a tsunami in Japan.
According to the news of the Kyodo agency, based on the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), giant waves up to 1.2 meters were observed on Amami Island in the south of the country, after a volcano in Tonga became active yesterday.
The JMA warned that a tsunami of up to 3 meters in height could occur in some of the islands in the southwestern part of the country.
Stating that tsunamis not exceeding 1 meter in height occurred on the Pacific Ocean coast of Japan, JMA emphasized that there was no loss of life or property in these events.
Authorities urged residents to stay away from the seaside in areas hit by the 9-magnitude earthquake in the north-east of the country in March 2011.
Following the tsunami warnings after the volcano in Tonga became active, a liaison office was established in the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office.
TSUNAMI ALSO FOR USA AND CANADA
The US National Meteorological Service National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the west coast of the US and Canada’s west coast, from Alaska to California.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) stated that a tsunami warning was also issued for the state of Hawaii, and that all the islands in the state were observed by the Emergency Management and that there was no damage reported so far, only minor flooding occurred on the islands.
The Chilean Ministry of Internal Affairs and Public Safety National Emergency Office (ONEMI) issued a tsunami warning for San Felix Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago and Easter Island, located in Chilean Antarctica and the Pacific Ocean.
IN THE PACIFIC, THE WARNINGS ARRIVED HIGHLY
An alarm was also sounded in Fiji, located in the south of the Pacific Ocean. Authorities warned the public to stay away from the coastline due to strong currents and dangerous waves. Having issued a tsunami warning, the government opened evacuation centers for people in coastal areas.
In New Zealand, 2,000 kilometers from the volcano, the National Emergency Management Agency warned the public that some areas could be subject to “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable fluctuations on the coast following a major volcanic eruption”.
7X POWERFUL THAN THE EXPLOSION IN DECEMBER
In the statement made by the Tonga Geological Service (TGS), after yesterday’s explosion, Tongans were warned to stay indoors and wear masks outside.
Authorities stated that the eruptions in the volcano were 7 times more severe than the activities on 20 December last year.
