The tsunami caused by the powerful eruption of an underwater volcano in the Tonga Islands in the South Pacific Ocean caused significant damage and two drowned victims in Peru. The threat was declared over on Sunday.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) clarified at 03:00 GMT (04:00 Swiss) that the tidal wave threat had “generally passed” for countries bordering the ocean, although slight variations sea level remain possible for a few hours.
“The tsunami had a significant impact on the northern coastline of Nuku’alofa”, the capital of the Tonga islands, “with boats and large rocks washed ashore”, but no casualties were reported in the archipelago said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
More than 10,000 kilometers away in Peru, two women drowned on Naylamp beach in Lambayeque, in the north, due to “abnormal waves” following the eruption in Tonga, the Center announced on Sunday. local emergency operations national.
The day before, Peru had closed 22 ports as a precaution and the police said they had rescued 23 people on the coast.
Ms Arden said the extent of the damage was difficult to assess in the small Pacific kingdom as communications were cut off.
“Nuku’alofa is covered in a thick cloud of volcanic ash, but otherwise the situation is calm and stable,” Ms Ardern added after contacting her country’s embassy in Tonga. However, the archipelago needs to supply itself with water because “the ash cloud has caused contamination”.
“Enorme explosion”
“Deeply concerned for the people of Tonga recovering from the aftermath of a volcanic eruption and tsunami,” tweeted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, adding that “the United States stands ready to send aid to our neighbors in the Pacific”.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted that the WHO was “ready to support the government and provide assistance to those affected”.
The United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) said it was preparing emergency supplies for Tonga, in coordination with Australia and New Zealand.
Stunning views from space showed the timing of Friday’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption on one of Tonga’s uninhabited islands: a massive mushrooming of smoke and ash, followed immediately by the outbreak of a wave.
Waves of 1.2 meters swept through Tonga’s capital, where residents fled to higher ground, leaving behind flooded homes as rocks and ash fell from the sky.
“It was a huge explosion,” Tongan resident Mere Taufa told the Stuff news site.
“The ground shook, the whole house shook. It was coming in waves. My younger brother thought bombs were going off near our house,” she said. A few minutes later, the water invaded their house.
The eruption triggered tsunamis in the Pacific, with waves of 1.74 meters measured in Chanaral, Chile, and smaller waves observed along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. Waves of about 1.2 meters hit the Pacific coast of Japan.
In California, the city of Santa Cruz was hit by flooding from a tidal wave generated by the tsunami, according to videos shared by the US National Weather Service.
Jusqu’en Alaska
The United States Geological Institute (USGS) recorded Saturday’s eruption as equivalent to a magnitude 5.8 earthquake at zero depth.
The eruption lasted eight minutes and sent plumes of gas, ash and smoke several miles into the air.
New Zealand scientist Marco Brenna, a senior lecturer at the University of Otago’s school of geology, described the impact of the eruption as “relatively small”, but said another eruption with a much larger impact could not be ruled out.
The eruption was heard as far away as Alaska, the Institute of Geophysics at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks tweeted.
Wave recorded in Switzerland
The shock wave crossed Switzerland on Saturday evening, MeteoSwiss said on Twitter. A clear and very brief variation in pressure was recorded between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai submarine volcano, located about 65 km from the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa, had emerged during an eruption in 2009, and had spewed so many large boulders and ash into the air in 2015 that a new island two kilometers long by one kilometer wide and 100 meters high was formed when they were deposited.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp