MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New major volcanic eruption detected in Tonga

The situation in Tonga is still unclear following a cut in communications, but the phenomenon has had repercussions all over the world

Two days after a first volcanic eruption not far from Tonga led to the death of two women in Peru, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center detected large waves in the area, which “could be from another explosion,” it was reported.

According to local media, some 80,000 people in Tonga have been affected by the eruption and even two fatalities were reported.

The activity of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano generated high waves and alerts in several Pacific countries.

A new “major” volcanic eruption was detected in Tonga, where some 80,000 people are at risk of suffering the consequences of the one that caused a tsunami in the Pacific two days ago, a monitoring station reported Monday. The last eruption was detected at 10:10 pm GMT Sunday, according to an alert from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Darwin, Australia. The scientists said it could be “from another explosion of the Tonga volcano.”

The powerful eruption caused a cascade of alerts throughout the Pacific Ocean: New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Australia, the United States, Japan, Ecuador, Chile, among others, although in most places no major mishaps occurred.

Hours after the volcano erupted, Tonga's phone and internet lines were cut, leaving the island's 105,000 residents almost completely cut off. It was later reported from neighboring New Zealand that power has been restored to parts of the island and cell phones are slowly coming back to life. But the situation in some coastal areas remained unknown.

According to experts, the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai volcano was one of the most violent in recent decades in the region. And it triggered tsunami alerts in several countries, such as Japan and the United States, where floods occurred in some coastal areas of California and Alaska.

In Alaska a powerful roar was heard, and in Scotland, at the antipodes of the volcano, the Fife weather station recorded a jump in air pressure due to this phenomenon.

“The tsunami has had a significant impact on the northern coastline of Nuku'alofa, the capital of Tonga, with boats and large stones thrown ashore,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. She added that “Nuku'alofa is covered in a thick layer of volcanic ash, but conditions are calm and stable.”

In Chile, waves reached between 30 centimeters and one meter, while bathers were told to evacuate the beaches. In Ecuador, “significant sea level disturbances” of up to half a meter were recorded.