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A second tsunami has hit the Pacific island of Tonga after a massive undersea volcanic eruption, flooding homes and triggering warnings as far away as Australia, Japan, and the US.
A family recorded the moment water rushed in from the ocean, flooding homes as they finished church choir practice when the second tsunami this weekend hit the nation of 105,000 people.
The tsunami forced people to higher ground after the volcanic eruption was heard as a series of massive booms across several Pacific islands.
Tsunami warnings were issued for Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Vanuatu, American Samoa, Lord Howe, Macquarie Island, and Norkfolk Island along with Japan, Hawaii, and the west coat of the US.
A second tsunami has hit the Pacific island of Tonga after a volcanic eruption, with a maritime warning issued for much of Australia’s eastern seaboard
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted at 3.10pm AEDT on Saturday.
The shockwaves of the eruption travelled more than 4,000km, and BoM issued a national marine warning for all NSW coastal areas, as well as parts of Queensland and Victoria.
Sydney police and the NSW State Emergency Service evacuated and closed beaches around the state, with early-morning swimmers called out of the water in Bondi and other Sydney beaches.
The bureau said a tsunami wave height of 1.27m was observed on Norfolk Island at 9pm AEDT and an 82cm wave was registered on the Gold Coast at 10.54pm AEDT on Saturday.
It said 1.10m-high waves were being recorded at Ned’s Beach on Lord Howe Island about 11pm AEDT and a 50cm surge was observed at Hobart’s Derwent Park about 11.44pm AEDT.
Port Kembla in NSW’s Wollongong registered a 65cm wave at 2.50am AEDT on Sunday.
BoM also issued a marine warning for Queensland from Sandy Cape to Point Danger.
In Victoria, there is a marine warning from Lakes Entrance to 60km east of Gabo Island, potentially threatening the Lakes Entrance and East Gippsland Coast with dangerous rips, waves and strong ocean currents.
Macquarie Island is also subject to a marine warning.
In this satellite photo taken by Planet Labs PBC, an island created by the underwater Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano is seen smoking on January 7, 2022. An undersea volcano erupted in spectacular fashion near the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday, January 15, sending large tsunami waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground
An image taken from footage by Japan’s Himawari-8 satellite on January 15, 2022 shows the volcanic eruption that provoked a tsunami in Tonga
The Australian government said initial assessments were underway and the Department of Foreign Affairs is working to ensure Australians in Tonga are safe and accounted for.
‘The size of these waves means the threat is for the marine environment for the east coast of Australia, and for land on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island; however the situation will be closely monitored and warnings updated as required,’ the bureau said.
‘People in land warning zones are strongly advised to move 1km inland or go to high ground at least 10m above sea level.
‘While evacuations are not necessary for marine warning zones, people in these areas are advised to leave the water and move away from the immediate water’s edge.’
The statement said tsunami waves are more powerful than the same size beach waves.
‘There will be many waves and the first wave may not be the largest.’
On Saturday morning a tsunami advisory (orange) was in effect for Hawaii and the entire US Pacific seaboard, from the US/Mexico border all the way to the tip of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, after an undersea volcano erupted near Tonga
Dramatic official aerial maps showed the eruption cloud over Tonga after the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcanco erupted (pictured, satellite images of the volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday)
Surfers grip their surf boards in the middle of a wave in Manhattan Beach, California, on Saturday in defiance of an advisory
An image from Japan’s Himawari-8 satellite and released by the National Institute of Information and Communications (Japan) on January 15, 2022 shows the volcanic eruption that provoked a tsunami in Tonga
Under a tsunami advisory, residents are warned to stay out of the water and away from beaches and marinas
In Tonga, locals pleaded for people to ‘pray for us’ as the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption was compared to ‘bombs going off’ by those who heard it, followed by the tsunami surging ashore.
The Islands Business news site reported that a convoy of police and military troops evacuated Tonga’s King Tupou VI from his palace near the shore. He was among the many residents who headed for higher ground.
New Zealand’s military said it was monitoring the situation and remained on standby, ready to assist if asked.
Residents of American Samoa were alerted of the tsunami warning by local broadcasters as well as church bells that rang territory-wide.
A tsunami struck Tonga sending terrified locals fleeing for high ground as huge waves crashed over roads and into homes (pictured, tsunami waves begin to overwhelm coastal homes in Tonga on Saturday)
An outdoor siren warning system was out of service. Those living along the shoreline quickly moved to higher ground.
As night fell, there were no reports of any damage and the Hawaii-based tsunami centre canceled the alert for American Samoa.
Authorities in the nearby island nations of Fiji and Samoa also issued warnings, telling people to avoid the shoreline due to strong currents and dangerous waves.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said there may be a slight swelling of the water along the Japanese coasts, but it was not expected to cause any damage.
Satellite images showed a huge eruption, a three-mile wide plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a mushroom about 12 above the blue Pacific waters.
Locals took to social media to share dramatic videos of the surging waves making land and crashing through homes and cars (pictured, still images from video filmed in Tonga and posted to social media on Saturday)
Pictured: Satellite imagery shows the underwater explosion (left). The images showed a 3 mile wide plume rising into the air to about 18km
‘A 1.2 metre tsunami wave has been observed at Nukualofa,’ Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology tweeted. The maximum tsunami wave recorded following an explosion in the region on Friday was 30 centimetres.
The Tonga Meteorological Services said the tsunami warning was in effect for all of Tonga.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or the extent of the damage as communications with the small nation remained problematic.
Locals pleaded for people to ‘pray for us’ as the eruption was compared to ‘bombs going off’ by those who heard it, followed by the tsunami surging ashore
The eruption was so intense it was heard as ‘loud thunder sounds’ in Fiji more than 800km away, officials in Suva said.
Victorina Kioa of the Tonga Public Service Commission said on Saturday people should ‘keep away from areas of warning which are low-lying coastal areas, reefs and beaches.’
The head of Tonga Geological Services Taaniela Kula urged people to stay indoors, wear a mask if they were outside and cover rainwater reservoirs and rainwater harvesting systems.
The eruption was so intense it was heard as ‘loud thunder sounds’ in Fiji more than 800km away, officials in Suva said
Pictured: Image captured by NOAA’s GOES West satellite and made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows an explosive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, located in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga, 13 January 2022
The Islands Business news site reported that a convoy of police and military troops evacuated Tonga’s King Tupou VI from his palace near the shore as residents headed for higher ground.
The explosion of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano was the latest in a series of spectacular eruptions.
Mere Taufa said she was in her house getting ready for dinner when the volcano erupted.
‘It was massive, the ground shook, our house was shaking. It came in waves. My younger brother thought bombs were exploding nearby,’ Taufa told the Stuff news website.
This picture taken on December 21, 2021 shows white gaseous clouds rising from the Hunga Ha’apai eruption seen from the Patangata coastline near Tongan capital Nuku’alofa
She said water filled their home minutes later and she saw the wall of a neighbouring house collapse.
‘We just knew straight away it was a tsunami. Just water gushing into our home.
‘You could just hear screams everywhere, people screaming for safety, for everyone to get to higher ground.’
A Twitter user identified as Dr Faka’iloatonga Taumoefolau posted video showing waves crashing ashore.
‘Can literally hear the volcano eruption, sounds pretty violent,’ he wrote, adding in a later post: ‘Raining ash and tiny pebbles, darkness blanketing the sky.’
Earlier, the Matangi Tonga news site reported that scientists had observed massive explosions, thunder and lightning near the volcano after it started erupting Friday.
The site said satellite images showed a three-mile-wide plume of ash, steam and gas rising about 18km into the air.
More than 2,250km away in New Zealand, officials warned of storm surges from the eruption.
The National Emergency Management Agency said some parts could expect ‘strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore following a large volcanic eruption’.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano sits on an uninhabited island about 64km north of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa.
In late 2014 and early 2015, a series of eruptions in the area created a small island and disrupted international air travel to the Pacific archipelago for several days.
The eruption (pictured from a satellite) could be heard thousands of kilometres away and sparked warnings in New Zealand, Fiji and American Samoa
Source: Daily Mail
