Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Asia-Pacific

Battered Tonga at the center of Pacific tsunami alert

By WANG XU in Tokyo | China Daily | Updated: 2022-01-17 09:45
Share
Share - WeChat
Tongan geologists aboard a ship watch the eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga, Jan 15, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

The tsunami threat around Pacific countries was abating on Sunday but the extent of damage remained unknown in Tonga, where a huge underwater volcano erupted the previous day and triggered tsunamis that flooded Pacific coastlines from Japan to the United States, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.

The capital of Tonga, Nuku'alofa suffered "significant" damage, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday, adding there had been no reports of injury or death but that a full assessment was not yet possible with communication lines down.

Ardern cited a damaged undersea cable as one reason for difficulties in communicating with Tonga. "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 communicating 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."

The volcano, about 65 kilometers north of Nuku'alofa, erupted on Saturday afternoon. Tonga Geological Services said plumes reached more than 19.3 kilometers above sea level, with satellite images showing the huge plume of ash, steam and gas the eruption caused.

As a result, tsunami warnings were in force for all Pacific countries after the eruption.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said tsunamis of up to about 80 centimeters high were observed in Tonga.

High waves triggered

The eruption triggered tsunamis reached about 1.4 meters in Vanuatu, about 3 meters in Japan, over one-meter high in Alaska and California and even 80 centimeters high on the coast of Peru, about 10,000 kilometers from Tonga.

Footage from local TV showed seawater gushing into a coastal town in Peru, where the water rose above knee level, and some people were clinging to pillars to stop themselves from being swept away.

Japan's weather agency issued tsunami warnings from the northernmost island of Hokkaido to Okinawa in the south, and about 230,000 people were asked to leave coastal areas, the country's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

Trains, aircraft and postal services were disrupted in the country, with Japan Airlines canceling about 27 domestic flights due to the tsunami.

However, during a news conference on Sunday evening, Japan's Meteorological Agency lifted all tsunami warnings and advisories, saying there may be some tidal fluctuation, but ruled out the possibility of a tsunami.

On Saturday the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concern over Tonga and other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States.

"The United Nations offices in the Pacific are closely monitoring the situation and are on standby to provide support if requested," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general, said.

"The secretary-general is grateful to countries that have already offered their support."

Agencies contributed to this story.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲欧美国产精品久久久| 国产成人免费高清视频网址| 久久av无码精品人妻糸列| 天天成人综合网| 性欧美丰满熟妇XXXX性| 亚洲AV无码成人专区| 特黄大片aaaaa毛片| 国产人妖ts在线观看免费视频| 91精品啪在线观看国产线免费| 我要打飞华人永久免费| 亚洲va国产va天堂va久久| 狼友av永久网站免费观看| 国产亚洲精品精品国产亚洲综合| 18禁免费无码无遮挡不卡网站| 小嫩妇又紧又嫩好紧视频| 久久国产成人精品国产成人亚洲| 欧美日韩激情在线| 免费观看毛片视频| 被两个同桌绑起来玩乳动态gif| 国产精品免费播放| _妓院_一钑片_免看黄大片| 我要看免费毛片| 久久综合香蕉国产蜜臀av| 污视频网站在线观看| 午夜网站在线播放| 青青青国产在线视频| 国产精品亚洲一区二区三区在线| jizz免费看| 手机1024看片| 久久国产精品无码一区二区三区| 欧美大陆日韩一区二区三区| 免费看毛片电影| 色之综合天天综合色天天棕色| 国产成人免费视频app| 67194熟妇在线观看线路| 女人18毛片a级毛片免费视频| 中文字幕无码乱人伦| 日韩在线视频精品| 亚洲人成人77777网站| 正点嫩模大尺度写真在线视频| 再灬再灬再灬深一点舒服|