Tsunami-Triggering Volcanic Eruption Captured By Satellite In The South Pacific

Tsunami waves slammed into the South Pacific island of Tonga on Saturday, sending panicked Tongans fleeing to higher ground and triggering tsunami warnings as far as the US West Coast. As per the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia, a tsunami wave of 1.2 metres was reported in Nuku'alofa, Tonga's capital.

Stunning photographs from orbit captured the moment the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted, sending a mushroom of smoke and ash into the air and sending a tremor through the surrounding waters.

Mere Taufa, a local resident, said she was in her house making preparations for meals when the undersea volcano erupted, flooding her home. She explained that the ground shook, and our house shook as well. It came in fits and starts. Her younger brother was convinced that bombs were going off nearby. Minutes later, she said, water flooded their home, and she saw a neighbouring house's wall shattered. Screams could be heard all around her, people pleading for help and urging everyone to go to higher ground.

The volcano erupted for at least eight minutes, sending plumes of gas, ash, and smoke hundreds of kilometres into the sky. Residents in coastal areas were advised to seek higher ground just after eruption, that occurred merely hours after the island's previous tsunami warning was cancelled.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano is located 65 kilometres north of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa on an uninhabited island. According to officials in Suva City, where photographs circulated on social media showed massive waves crashing on the coast, the latest eruption was so powerful that it was heard as strong thunder sounds more than 800 kilometres away.

Tsunami warnings have been released for American Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Chile, and Australia, where authorities warned that tsunami waves might hit a strip of coastline, which include Sydney. Individuals in the nearby state of New South Wales were urged to get out of the water and move further away from the water's edge.

As per the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, tsunami waves caused modest flooding in Hawaii and a tsunami warning was raised for the whole US West Coast - from the bottom of California to the point of Alaska's Aleutian islands.

Residents in Fiji have been advised to cover water collection tanks in the event of corrosive rain. Taaniela Kula, the chief of Tonga Geological Services, asked residents to stay inside, wear a mask outside, and protect rainwater reservoirs and rainwater collecting equipment.