SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tsunami warnings were issued for the entire US West Coast after a massive volcanic eruption across the Pacific Ocean in Tonga, with tsunami waves triggering low-level flooding in Hawaii.
The US National Weather Service issued tsunami advisories from California to Alaska, predicting waves of up to two feet (60 centimetres), strong rip currents and coastal flooding.
“Move off the beach and out of harbors and marinas in these areas,” it advised.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said “a tsunami is currently being observed” in Hawaii, but said there was “no reported damage and only minor flooding throughout the islands.”
An underwater volcano in the South Pacific erupted violently on Saturday, causing tsunamis to hit Hawaii, Japan, and Tonga’s largest island, Tongatapu — sending waves flooding into the capital.
The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano, about 30 kilometers southeast of Tonga’s Fonuafo’ou island, first erupted on Friday and a second time on Saturday around 5:26 pm. local time.
The eruptions sent a plume of ash and gas steam 20 kilometers into the air. Satellite imagery showed a massive ash cloud and shockwaves spreading from the eruption. Ash was falling from the sky in the Tonga capital, Nuku’alofa, Saturday evening and phone connections were down.
The eruption caused a severe tsunami on Tongatapu, where the capital is located, with waves flowing onto coastal roads and flooding properties on Saturday. Residents fled for higher ground as waves swept the waterfront, main street and grounds of Tonga’s Royal Palace.
Tonga’s King Tupou VI was evacuated from the palace, with local media reporting of a convoy of police and troops rushing the monarch to a villa at Mata Ki Eua. The eruption also had effects across the Pacific, as tsunami warnings and advisories were issued from parts of New Zealand and Japan to the United States and Canada’s British Columbia. — NNN-AGENCIES
