Volcanic eruption captured by satellite images
The South Pacific submarine volcano eruption on January 15 caused a tsunami. The United States and Japan both warned in advance and called on people living along their Pacific coastlines to stay away from the coast.
Japan has issued an alert for waves as high as three meters, and the southern part of the country was also hit by 1.2-meter waves on Saturday night.
The United States warned that there may be strong currents and waves, and coastal flooding may occur.
An underwater volcano erupted, causing the kingdom of Tonga to be hit by waves more than a metre high. Hunga Tonga – The sound of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption spread across the South Pacific, as far as the United States.
image source,Reuters
Satellite imagery from January 7 showed smoke rising above the submarine volcano.
Tonga’s capital, just 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of the outbreak site, was covered in ash in much of the country and was in the midst of a total shutdown of electricity, telephone communications and internet services. The extent of casualties or damage is not yet known.
Footage circulated on social media showed the ocean flowing over a church and several homes, with witnesses saying ash fell from the sky over the capital Nuku’alofa.
Videos on social media showed people trying to drive away from lower-lying areas, causing traffic jams.
Mere Taufa, a resident, said her family was preparing dinner when the volcano erupted and her brother thought a bomb went off nearby.
“My first reaction was to hide under the table, I grabbed my sister and yelled at my parents and the rest of the family to hide,” she was quoted as saying by New Zealand news site Stuff.co.nz.
Ms. Taofa said she then noticed that water was pouring into their home.
“You just heard screams all around, people screaming for their lives and telling everyone to go to the higher ground,” she said.
Tonga Geological Services said gas, smoke and dust gushing from the volcano shot up to 20 metres in the air.
image source,EPA
The location of the eruption, and the spewing ash seen by satellite.
In Japan, a 1.2-meter tsunami was recorded in the town of Kominato on Amami Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, at 23:55 (14:55 GMT) on Saturday (January 15).
The volcanic eruption was so intense in the first eight minutes that a “thunder and thunder” could be heard more than 800 kilometers away in Fiji.
The Fiji government issued a tsunami report and opened evacuation centers in coastal areas. Another Pacific island nation, Vanuatu, issued a similar warning.
University of Auckland volcanologist Prof Shane Cronin said it was one of Tonga’s largest volcanic eruptions in almost 30 years.
“It’s quite a big thing – at least the bigger outbreak of the last 10 years,” he told the BBC.
“What’s most notable about this is the speed and intensity of its spread. This time it’s bigger, and it spreads farther to the perimeter, creating more dust. I expect the ash to fall on Tonga to be several centimeters thick.”
A spokesman for the Australian government said the prime minister and foreign minister were monitoring the situation closely and were ready to assist if needed.
Tsunami warnings have also been issued for parts of Australia’s east coast and Tasmania.
In New Zealand, more than 2,300km from Tonga, the National Emergency Management Agency said the northern and eastern coasts of New Zealand’s North Island were likely to experience “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable waves hitting the coast. “.
The local weather forecaster tweeted about the eruption: “The energy released is amazing”, adding: “There are still reports of sonic booms being heard across New Zealand.”