More Tsunami Threat? Second Massive Eruption Detected in Tonga Volcano

According to a warning from Australia's Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, a second large eruption was detected at the Hunga Tonga volcano on Monday.

After a massive volcanic explosion created a tsunami, New Zealand has deployed a plane to Tonga to survey the damage.

In addition to covering the islands in ash, the eruption cut off power and communications.

A Significantly Huge Disaster

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), 80,000 individuals might be affected.

The tsunami caused "substantial damage," according to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. No deaths have been recorded as of writing.

However, information remains scant, and New Zealand and Australia are sending surveillance planes to evaluate the extent of the damage.

According to the New Zealand Defense Force, an aircraft had gone to "help in an early damage assessment of the region and low-lying islands" according to the New Zealand Defence Force.

In Need of Help

Help is desperately needed, according to Katie Greenwood of the IFRC in Fiji.

"We believe the eruption, or the tsunami wave and inundation as a result of the eruption, might harm up to 80,000 people throughout Tonga," she added.

"People were shocked; therefore, we're concerned about those distant islands, and we'd want to hear from them."

Volcanic Eruption

On Saturday, the undersea volcano erupted, spewing ash into the sky and causing warnings of 1.2m (4ft) waves reaching Tonga. In New Zealand, 2,383 kilometers (1,481 miles) from Tonga, the eruption was so strong that it could be heard.

After being blanketed with a coating of volcanic ash, New Zealand's Acting High Commissioner in Tonga, Peter Lund, claimed the island country appears "like a moonscape."

Ms. Ardern warned on Sunday that the dust was polluting water sources and making fresh water a critical requirement.

According to humanitarian organizations, authorities have been telling people to drink bottled water and use face masks to protect their lungs.

Videos showed traffic congestion as residents evacuated low-lying regions by automobile as the sky darkened with ash. Tonga's internet and phone connections fell hours later, rendering the island's 105,000 citizens virtually unavailable.

The volcano has been erupting for many days before the major eruption. According to the Tonga Meteorological Agency, sulfur and ammonia odors were recorded in several regions.

Response

Ms. Ardern said electricity was being restored in some sections of the island, and cell phones were slowly starting to operate again. However, the state of affairs in several coastal communities remained a mystery.

Many Tongans in Australia and New Zealand have been afraid for their safety after communicating with their friends and relatives.

Fatima claimed she had not heard from her colleague, a beachside restaurant in Nuku'alofa, Tonga's capital.

She told the BBC, "It's all unfortunate, and we're praying for the best." "This will be difficult for them since they've been on lockdown for a long time with no tourists, and now this."

According to satellite photographs, some outlying islands appear to have been inundated by the ocean.

One of the Worst in Recent Years

According to experts, the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai volcano's eruption is one of the most severe in decades in the region.

It made authorities declare tsunami warnings in multiple countries, including Japan and the United States, where floods ravaged sections of California and Alaska's coastal areas.

The situation in Tonga is "shocking," according to UK Foreign Office minister Zac Goldsmith, who said the UK was "ready to help and support our Commonwealth friend and partner in any way we can."

When the EU's Sentinel-1A satellite flew overhead on Saturday, scientists received their first view at Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai after the eruption.

This spacecraft is a radar platform that can see the surface below despite cloud and ash concealing it.

It was evident that most of the crater rim above the ocean waves had been demolished, demonstrating the blast's power.

Researchers will be interested in determining the source of a tsunami that caused waves on neighboring islands and beaches throughout the Pacific Ocean.

What role did the explosion play in the explosion? Pressure waves can cause "meteotsunamis," as they're known. Perhaps the water displacement was caused by an unobserved collapse of a section of the volcano beneath the ocean's surface.

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