Tonga volcanic eruption: What happened, what we know and the aftermath of destruction

The powerful eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano sent tsunami waves around the world on Saturday as increased water levels were reported in Peru, New Zealand, Japan and the United States. While the tsunami advisory issued for Japan and Hawaii, Alaska and the US Pacific coast was lifted, according to the Associated Press, the video of the eruption that was visible from space has caused curiosity among people in the geological event. Here is all that we know about the undersea volcano eruption and the footprints of destruction it has left in its wake: What is an undersea volcano? According to the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration group, volcanoes are common occurrences along the boundaries of Earth’s tectonic plates. As the name suggests, an undersea volcano is located under the ocean surface and generally erupts below water. [caption id=“attachment_10293601” align=“alignnone” width=“638”]  In this satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite, shows an undersea volcano eruption at the Pacific nation of Tonga Saturday, 15 January, 2022.(Japan Meteorology Agency via AP)[/caption] There are an estimated one million undersea volcanoes that not only deposit lava, but can also spew out large amounts of volcanic ash. According to peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience, there are around 1,900 active volcanoes on land or as islands. The number of submarine volcanoes is estimated to be much higher. As the deep sea remains largely unexplored, the exact numbers of undersea volcanoes are not known. Hence, most submarine volcanic eruptions go unnoticed. The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano The volcano consists of two small uninhabited islands, Hunga-Ha’apai and Hunga-Tonga, rising 100 meters above sea level. Below sea level, it hides a massive volcano that is around 1,800 meters high and 20 kilometers wide, according to The Conversation. The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano, which lies about 30 kilometers from Tonga’s Fonuafo’ou island, first erupted on Friday and a second time on Saturday around 5:26 pm local time, according to CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand (RNZ). The eruptions sent a plume of ash, gas and steam 20 kilometers into the air, according to RNZ. The volcano has a history of volatility as it has erupted above sea level in 2009, 2015 and in December. In its 2015 eruption it threw out large rocks and caused a new island to form measuring two km long, one km wide and 100 meters high, according to Al Jazeera. As per a report by The Washington Post, experts at the National Weather Service in Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks confirmed that audible booms were heard on early Saturday morning local time, suggesting the sound traveled more than 9,300 kilometers. The damage by the Tonga volcano eruption According to Agence France-Presse, the capital of Tonga, Nuku’alofa, suffered “significant” damage, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, adding there had been no reports of injury or death but a full assessment was not yet possible with communication lines down. “The tsunami has had a significant impact on the foreshore on the northern side of Nuku’alofa with boats and large boulders washed ashore,” Ardern said after contact with the New Zealand embassy in Tonga. “Nuku’alofa is covered in a thick film of volcanic dust but otherwise conditions are calm and stable.” Tonga was in need of water supplies, she said, as “the ash cloud has caused contamination.” [caption id=“attachment_10293581” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  An inundated parking lot in Santa Cruz, California after the Tonga volcano eruption caused tsunamis around the world.AP[/caption] The eruption triggered tsunamis across the Pacific with waves of 1.74 metres measured in Chanaral, Chile, more than 10,000 kilometres away, and smaller waves seen along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico. Two women drowned on a beach in northern Peru due to “anomalous waves” caused by the eruption, authorities said Sunday, and dozens of people required rescue from flooding in the south of the country. In California, the city of Santa Cruz was hit by flooding due to a tidal surge generated by the tsunami, while waves of around 1.2 meters hit along Japan’s Pacific coast. According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the country’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami advisory early Sunday morning. Japan’s northeastern prefecture saw waves as high as 2.7 meters while multiple smaller tsunamis were reported across several locations. By Sunday afternoon, all tsunami warnings had been lifted, NHK reported. Similar advisories were issued in Australia, Fiji, Samoa and the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.