Huge Tonga volcanic eruption wreaks havoc
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Tonga is covered in ash as a result of a massive volcanic eruption and communications are still cut off.
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Huge Tonga volcanic eruption caused 'significant damage'
A massive volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered tsunami waves across the Pacific caused "significant damage" to the island nation's capital and suffocated it in dust, but the full extent was unknown on Sunday because communications were still down.
The Saturday eruption was so powerful that it was recorded all over the world, causing a tsunami that flooded Pacific coastlines from Japan to the United States.
The capital, Nuku'alofa, suffered "significant" damage, according to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who added that there had been no reports of injury or death but that a full assessment was not yet possible due to communication lines being down.
"The tsunami has had a significant impact on the foreshore on the northern side of Nuku'alofa with boats and large boulders washed ashore," Ardern said after contact with the New Zealand Embassy in Tonga.
"Nuku'alofa is covered in a thick film of volcanic dust but otherwise conditions are calm and stable."
Tonga required water supplies, she said, "The ash cloud has caused contamination."
There has been no word on damage in the outer islands, and New Zealand will send an air force reconnaissance aircraft "as soon as atmospheric conditions allow," according to a tweet from the New Zealand Defence Force.
NEWS📢 We’re working hard to see how we can assist our Pacific neighbours after the volcanic eruption near #Tonga.
— NZ Defence Force (@NZDefenceForce) January 16, 2022
An @NZAirForce Orion aircraft is on stand-by to provide aerial surveillance as soon as atmospheric conditions allow. Flying conditions are currently hazardous. pic.twitter.com/BUzdEIGo3c
"We're working hard to see how we can assist our Pacific neighbors after the volcanic eruption near Tonga."
As small stones and ash fell from the sky, a 1.2-meter wave swept ashore in the Tongan capital, forcing residents to flee to higher ground and leaving behind flooded houses, some with structural damage.
"It was massive, the ground shook, our house was shaking. It came in waves. My younger brother thought bombs were exploding nearby," resident Mere Taufa told the Stuff news website Saturday.
She claimed that water filled their home minutes later and that she witnessed the collapse of a neighboring house's wall.
Chaos and trauma
"We just knew straight away it was a tsunami. Just water gushing into our home," Taufa said.
"You could just hear screams everywhere, people screaming for safety, for everyone to get to higher ground."
Tonga's King Tupou VI was reportedly evacuated from the Royal Palace in Nuku'alofa and driven to a villa far from the coast by a police convoy.
Satellite images showed the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano's long, rumbling eruption spewing smoke and ash into the air, with a thunderous roar heard 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) away in Alaska.
Tsunamis swept across the Pacific, with waves measuring 1.74 meters (five and a half feet) in Chanaral, Chile, more than 10,000 kilometers away, with smaller waves seen from Alaska to Mexico.
The city of Santa Cruz in California was flooded as a result of a tidal surge caused by the tsunami, according to videos retweeted by the US National Weather Service.
Tsunami Alert for US West Coast, Flooding in Hawaii After Tongas Massive Volcano Eruption The US National Weather Service issued tsunami advisories from California to Alaska, predicting waves of up to two feet (60 centime... #World by #News18 https://t.co/tXyrDuSW3P
— Market’s Cafe (@MarketsCafe) January 16, 2022
As a precaution, Peru closed 22 ports as waves of up to 1.2 meters (four feet) slammed into Japan's Pacific coast.
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Ships are seen capsized at a port in Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, on Sunday. (KYODO)
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii reported that the threat from the eruption had passed by 03:00 GMT on Sunday.
Heard in Alaska
Saturday's eruption was equivalent to a 5.8-magnitude earthquake at zero depth, according to the US Geological Survey.
The volcano erupted for at least eight minutes, sending plumes of gas, ash, and smoke several kilometers into the sky.
The impact of the eruption, according to New Zealand scientist Marco Brenna, a senior lecturer at Otago University's School of Geology, was "relatively mild", but another eruption with a much larger impact could not be ruled out.
The eruption was so powerful that it could be heard in Alaska, according to the UAF Geophysical Institute.
