A massive volcanic eruption and tsunami has hit the island nation of Tonga. AP. The massive explosion was visible from space and ash steam and gas have exploded from the volcano. The eruption caused a tsunami that hit Tonga itself. Other countries were not strongly effected by the waves. Tonga's king was evacuated and many people were able to get to higher ground. It is unclear if there have been any injuries or deaths from the explosion and tsunami.
An undersea volcano eruption sent large tsunami waves to the Pacific nation of Tonga, forcing people to rush to higher ground. pic.twitter.com/2rbiQl2QrZ
— DW News (@dwnews) January 15, 2022
Acid rain could be the next threat Tongan 🇹🇴 residents face in the coming days after the volcanic eruption wreaked havoc on the island yesterday. pic.twitter.com/WiYGiRQUje
— Jese Tuisinu (@JTuisinu) January 15, 2022
This family were in church. They’d just finish having choir practice and the tsunami hit 😩❤️🇹🇴 pic.twitter.com/DLLFRJ9BAc
— KNOWKNEE (@JohnnyTeisi) January 15, 2022
My Comment:
A fairly major natural disaster hit Tonga this morning, so I thought it was worth a quick post. From what I understand that volcano that blew up was partially underwater which explains why there was a tsunami associated with it. It was a truly massive explosion that was seen from space. From what I see on social media people were able to hear the explosion as far away as Australia and New Zealand, which is just insane.
I don't think the casualties will be that high. The volcano is far enough away from any populated area that it will not kill or injure anyone itself. Indeed, people are near it with ships and they are fine. The Tsunami is the real danger but it seems like only Tonga itself will be affected. The video I have seen makes it look serious but not on the scale as the tsunamis that hit Indonesia in 2004 and Japan in 2011. Most people probably had enough time to get to higher ground, like the king of Tonga.
The economic cost will be high. I know hardly anything about Tonga but I imagine that a lot of their infrastructure is near the coast and a lot of it will have been damaged or destroyed by the tsunami. It didn't look like buildings were getting swept away but damage is going to be done.
The other problem is that the situation is not over yet. There could be follow up eruptions that could be almost as large as the first. That doesn't seem too likely as I am guessing a lot of the pressure has been released. The other problem is that there could be follow up earthquakes but that too seems fairly unlikely. Hopefully this event is over now.
It's unclear to me how big this event is. Given the force involved here and the power of the explosion I wonder if enough ash has been put into the atmosphere to effect the weather? I know major volcanic eruptions can cause colder winters and delayed summers but I am not sure if this eruption was that powerful. From the satellite views the explosion was very impressive but not so much from the video show by people near the volcano.
Tsunami Warning Issued in Oceania as Waves Crash Into Tonga from Giant Underwater Eruption pic.twitter.com/PohU02Kd9a
— RT (@RT_com) January 15, 2022
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