Tsunami alert in US coast as Volcano erupts in Tonga

Tags: International News

Tsunami warnings were issued on 15 January 2022 for the entire US West Coast after a massive volcanic eruption across the Pacific Ocean in Tonga, with tsunami waves triggering low-level flooding in Hawaii island.

• The latest eruption of Tonga’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano lasted at least eight minutes and sent plumes of gas, ash and smoke several kilometres into the air.
• The US National Weather Service issued tsunami advisories from the bottom of California to the tip of Alaska’s Aleutian islands, predicting waves of up to 60cm, strong rip currents and coastal flooding.
• Similar warnings were issued by nations throughout the Pacific, including New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and Australia as well as for coastal Chile.

Tsunami is a Japanese word which means giant waves . It is  created due to earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under seas.