From a long and very photo-heavy thread on UK Daily Mail - but I thought the headline and information were an important update - this is looking more serious than was first thought...
An undersea volcano that erupted (pictured) in Tonga, triggering a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, sent tsunami waves into the coast of the Pacific island and left it covered in ash and cut off from aid.
www.dailymail.co.uk
'Once in a THOUSAND years explosion': Death toll is unknown on ash-choked Tonga after underwater volcano sparked deadly tsunami wiping out internet on island paradise - two die in Peru as waves smash Latin America and US West coast
The 'violent' underwater volcanic eruption was labelled by scientists as a 'once in a thousand years explosion'
It hit the Pacific at 5.10pm local time, and was so huge the explosion was visible from outer space
Around 20 minutes later, Tonga was hit with waves which overwhelmed homes, buildings, fences and roads
Dramatic video from Tonga showed huge waves crashing into homes and buildings, flooding the island
Satellite images showed a huge three-mile-wide plume of ash and steam rising into the air to about 12 miles
By CHRIS MA
TTHEWS and JACK WRIGHT and CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:25, 16 January 2022 | UPDATED: 17:20, 16 January 2022
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An underwater volcano that erupted in Tonga was a 'massive explosion' that only happens 'roughly every thousand years' and was so large it was visible from space.
The explosion triggered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake and sent tsunami waves crashing into the coast of the Pacific island, and left it covered in ash and cut off from aid.
In the US, waves of up to 4.1 feet were recorded in Port San Luis on Saturday, and tsunami-effect waves were recorded along the coast in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska.
Satellite images showed the spectacular eruption from space and despite the dire warnings, spectators flocked to the beaches to view the surging tsunami waves, while surfers threw caution to the wind to catch the powerful waves generated by the surge.
Tsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the Pacific islands as casualty reports had yet to come through.
Professor Shane Cronin, from the University of Auckland, is an expert in Tonga eruptions. 'This is one of the massive explosions the volcano is capable of producing roughly every thousand years,' he wrote in The Conversation.
Prof Cronin added: 'We could be in for several weeks or even years of major volcanic unrest from the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano.'
Two women drowned in northern Peru when two metre waves hit a truck, dragging it into the sea at Naylamp beach, Lambayeque, in the north of the country.
The driver escaped but his wife and another women drowned in the swell. Although Peru did not issue a tsunami warning, its navy are monitoring 'abnormal waves' off its coast.
The massive ash cloud covering the tiny island nation of Tonga is preventing surveillance flights from New Zealand to assess the extent of damage.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the eruption was 'hugely concerning' and agencies were still trying to establish full communications with Tonga.
One complicating factor to any international aid effort is that Tonga has so far managed to avoid any outbreaks of Covid-19.
Ms Ardern said New Zealand's military staff were all fully vaccinated and willing to follow any protocols established by Tonga.
The immediate concern in Tonga is for air and water safety due to ash and smoke. The government has asked the public to wear masks and use bottled water for now.
Tsunami advisories were issued for Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. Pacific coast. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens were also advised to evacuate as waves of more than a metre hit coastal areas.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the eruption caused the equivalent of magnitude 5.8 earthquake. Scientists said tsunamis generated by volcanoes rather than earthquakes are relatively rare.
The powerful waves registered in Japan, New Zealand and Australia, with a thunderous roar heard 6,000 miles away in Alaska.
The eruption has reportedly created a new island in Tonga, the second time such an event has happened in Tonga in ten years.
A newly formed volcanic cone between the Tonga islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai erupts on 15 January 2015, releasing dense, particle-rich jets from the upper regions and surges of water-rich material around the base
Tonga volcano eruption as seen from Himawari-8 of the Japan Meteorological Agency. Hundreds of frightened Tongans fled to higher ground as the eruption triggered a tsunami in the island nation, with a four-foot wave observed in Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa
Left: A satellite image shows the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai with a plume of smoke rising from it, days before the eruption. Right: The volcano two hours before its eruption in Tonga.
People look at a damaged boat in a marina at Tutukaka, New Zealand, after waves from a volcano eruption swept into the marina +27
People look at a damaged boat in a marina at Tutukaka, New Zealand, after waves from a volcano eruption swept into the marina
The eruption cut the internet to Tonga, leaving friends and family members around the world on Sunday still anxiously trying to get in touch to figure out if there were any injuries and the extent of the damage. Even government websites and other official sources remained without any updates.
Satellite images showed a huge eruption, with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising above the sea. A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska.
Can volcanoes create new islands?
Volcanic islands are created by eruptions underwater, usually at the boundaries of two tectonic plates, which are pieces of the earth's crust.
When the plates ease apart, lava spews out in a volcanic eruption.
When the lava cools, layers of erupted material form the basis of new land mass.
They layers build their way up from the sea bed to creat new islands.
The Tonga Meteorological Services said a tsunami warning was declared for all of the archipelago, and data from the Pacific tsunami center said waves of 2.7 feet were detected.
Rachel Afeaki-Taumoepeau, who chairs the New Zealand Tonga Business Council, said she hoped the relatively low level of the tsunami waves would have allowed most people to get to safety, although she worried about those living on islands closest to the volcano.
She said she hadn't yet been able to contact her friends and family in Tonga.
Some churches in New Zealand organised community prayers in Auckland and other cities.
'We pray God will help our country at this sad moment. We hope everybody is safe,' Maikeli Atiola, the Secretary of the Wesleyan Church of Tonga in Auckland said, Radio New Zealand reported.
Ardern said the main undersea communications cable has been impacted, likely due to loss of power.
Power was being restored in some areas on the islands and local mobile phones were slowly starting to work, she added.
Official damage assessments were not yet available, she said. But Ardern said the New Zealand high commission in Nuku'alofa had said the tsunami has damaged boats, shops and other infrastructure.
Australia said it will send a P8 surveillance aircraft to Tonga on Monday to assess damage to critical infrastructure such as roads, ports and power lines, which will determine the next phase of the response effort.
In the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the country stands prepared to provide support.
He said he was 'deeply concerned for the people of Tonga as they recover from the aftermath of a volcanic eruption and tsunami'.
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