It is tsunami warning in a large area of the Pacific following the eruption of the underwater volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai, near the kingdom of Tonga. Media in the Polynesian kingdom of the South Pacific, made up of more than 170 islands, most of which are uninhabited, reported rogue waves that reached the coast and flooded the structures, a shower of ash and a telephone blackout.
Tonga, underwater volcano explodes: satellite images capture the moment, ash reaches 20 km in height
Subsequently, the tsunami alarm went off in Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand: the population was asked to keep away from coastal areas due to the risk of anomalous currents and unpredictable tides. “Those who are on the coast must get out of the water, leave the beach and the coastal area and keep away from ports, rivers, estuaries” asked the New Zealand Civil Protection.
The volcano affected by the explosion is located about 2 thousand kilometers northeast of New Zealand. A first explosion was reported yesterday, when anomalous waves of up to 30 centimeters were reported by the Tonga Weather Service. Intermittent volcano activity was recorded in late December but yesterday’s eruption had already been considered to have seven times the power of the previous one, the kingdom’s geological service stressed.