Photo: @JOHNNYTEISI / copyright
The massive volcanic eruption in Tonga, which caused tsunami waves on Saturday, filled these South Pacific islands with ashes, in addition to interrupting electricity and damaging communications.
Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, said the tsunami caused “significant damage”, dragging boats ashore and hitting shops along the shore.
The information that comes from Tonga is scarce, but so far no deaths have been reported.
Local residents say that Tonga looks like “a moonscape” after being covered by a layer of volcanic ash.
Dust is polluting water flows and right now fresh water has become a necessity
Charities stated that the ash and smoke had led to the authorities authorities to ask residents to drink bottled water and wear masks to protect their lungs.
One of the worst eruptions in decades
The undersea volcano erupted on Saturday, spewing a plume of ash into the sky and prompting warnings of 1.2-meter waves. The eruption was so strong that could be heard in New Zealand, at 2.383 km from Tonga.
While the sky was covered with ash, several videos showed the traffic jams and how many people fled in cars from the lower areas. Hours later, phone and internet lines went down in Tonga, leaving the 105.010 residents of the island.
Ardern said power was being restored in parts of Tonga and mobile phones were starting to work slowly. However, the situation in some coastal areas remains unknown.
Unable to speak to their friends and family, many Tongans in Australia and New Zealand were concerned for their safety.
New Zealand and Australia are sending surveillance flights to assess the extent of the damage.
Satellite images show that some smaller islands have been completely submerged under water.
Experts say that the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano is a one of the most violent in the region in decades.
The eruption triggered tsunami alerts in several countries, including Chile, the United States and Japan. Some flooding was reported in coastal areas in California and Alaska.
Satellite images show the destruction of the volcano
Analysis – Jonathan Amos, Science Correspondent
Scientists first saw Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai after Saturday’s eruption when the European Union’s Sentinel-1A satellite flew overhead.
This spacecraft is a radar platform and can see through clouds and ash that obscure the surface below.
The images clearly showed that much of the rim of the crater that rose above the ocean waters had been destroyed, a sign of the ferocity of the explosion.
Need more studies
Researchers will study to understand the cause of a tsunami that caused waves not only on nearby islands but on several beaches around the Pacific Ocean.
To what extent was the explosion itself responsible? The pressure waves can generate what is called a “meteotsunami”.
Another possibility is that perhaps the displacement of the water was the result of an invisible collapse of part of the volcano below the surface of the ocean.
In the next few days the facts will be clarified when Get more information about what happened.
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