Eruption in the Tonga Islands: tsunami warning in the United States, New Zealand, Australia and Chile

After “minor floods” in Hawaii, tsunami warnings were issued Saturday morning for the west coast of the United States, according to the US weather services. These alerts come after Friday’s eruption of a volcano in the Tonga archipelago.

“Leave the beaches, ports and marinas” in the areas concerned, recommends the National Weather Service (NWS), which specifies with “relief” that the American islands of Hawaii did not report any damage.

Several states could be affected by the tsunami, including California, Oregon and Washington, as well as Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia, said the NWS. “The main impacts expected are strong rip currents and flooding of coasts and low-lying areas”, warns the weather service on Twitter.

Tsunami warnings have also been issued for Fiji and Samoa, New Zealand and Australia. The Australian authorities have notably asked the population of Sydney and its region, New South Wales, to “to get out of the water, and to move away from the edge of the water”.

In Chile, the National Emergency Situations Office has warned of the possibility that a “minor tsunami” does not reach Easter Island and other Chilean archipelagos. “As a precautionary measure, in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, the San Félix Islands, Easter Island and Chilean Antarctica it is requested, due to the eruption of a volcano in the Tonga Islands, to leave the areas of beaches where a minor tsunami could occur”, said Onemi.

Residents of the Tonga Islands fled to higher ground on Saturday as a nearly 1.2 meter tsunami was triggered by a new eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano. The eruption lasted eight minutes and was so loud it was heard “like distant thunder” in the Fiji Islands, more than 800km away, Fijian authorities said.