Tongans flee tsunami following powerful volcanic eruption

1.2-metre waves recorded after the volcano erupted for least eight minutes and sent plumes of gas, ash and smoke several kilometres into the air.  The eruption was so intense it was heard as “loud thunder sounds” in Fiji more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) away, officials in Suva said.

Frightened Tongans fled to higher ground on Saturday, January 15, after a massive volcanic eruption — heard in neighbouring countries — triggered tsunami warnings across the South Pacific.

“A 1.2 metre tsunami wave has been observed at Nuku’alofa,” Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology tweeted.

The latest eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano came just a few hours after a separate Friday tsunami warning. 

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.

She said water filled their home minutes later and she saw the wall of a neighbouring house collapse.

 “You could just hear screams everywhere, people screaming for safety, for everyone to get to higher ground.”

The initial eruption lasted for at least eight minutes and sent plumes of gas, ash and smoke several kilometres into the air.

Residents in coastal areas were urged to head for higher ground.

The eruption was heard as “loud thunder sounds” in Fiji more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) away, officials in Suva said.

Fijian officials warned residents to cover water collection tanks in case of acid rainfall.

Victorina Kioa of the Tonga Public Service Commission said on Friday that people should “keep away from areas of warning which are low-lying coastal areas, reefs and beaches”.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a “tsunami advisory” for American Samoa, saying there was a threat of “sea level fluctuations and strong ocean currents that could be a hazard along beaches”.

Similar warnings were issued by authorities in New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and Australia — where authorities said a swathe of coastline including Sydney could be hit by tsunami waves.

People in New South Wales state were also “advised to get out of the water and move away from the water’s edge”.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano sits on an uninhabited island about 65 kilometres (40 miles) north of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa.

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