Volcano eruption on Tonga archipelago caused extensive damage: Ecological accident on the coast of Peru – Topky.sk

The Pampilla refinery, part of the Spanish company Repsol, admitted that there was an “oil spill” off the coast of Callao and Ventanilla districts near Lima on Saturday, due to strong waves caused by the eruption of a volcano on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

The oil leak occurred during its unloading from the tank. The Pampilla refinery did not say how much oil had been spilled into the sea, and announced that it was working with the authorities to clean up the affected beaches. In the meantime, the National Emergency Operations Center said in a statement that the situation had been brought under control.

Environment Minister Rubén Ramírez said that oil polluted three kilometers of coastline along three beaches. He added that biodiversity had been damaged and acknowledged the possible threat to human health. For this reason, the whole area has been closed and it is forbidden to carry out all kinds of normal activities there.

This ban particularly affects local fishermen, who are demanding that the government severely punish the perpetrator of the environmental accident and compensate them for the damage and loss of earnings. The oil floating on the sea was collected by the ship’s crews, and was removed on land by people in protective suits.

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Source: SITA / AP Photo / Martin Mejia

Pampilla could face fines of up to $ 34.5 million, the Department of the Environment said. The case is already being dealt with by the relevant prosecutor’s office. As AFP recalled, two women drowned on a beach in northern Peru in “unusually high” waves caused by the eruption of an underwater volcano off the coast of the island state of Tonga.

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Source: SITA / AP Photo / Martin Mejia

The eruption of the Hung Tong-Hung Ha’apai submarine volcano was so strong that it was recorded all over the world. The eruption triggered tsunamis that flooded the Pacific coast from Japan to the United States. The southern part of Peru, about 10,600 kilometers from Tonga, has experienced mild flooding in several coastal areas, where authorities have had to evacuate dozens of people.

The eruption of the volcano and the tsunami caused extensive damage

The Pacific island state of Tonga suffered extensive material damage after a strong submarine volcano eruption on Saturday and a subsequent tsunami. The AFP agency informed about it on Tuesday, referring to UN data.

The first reports of the extent of the damage to this island kingdom appeared three days after the eruption of the volcano, thanks to satellite telephone contact with Tonga, a reconnaissance flight and satellite images. The first confirmed victim is British Angela Glover. Her brother reported that the 50-year-old woman had died trying to save her dogs. At least one other person was declared missing by the local authorities. Australia and New Zealand, which conducted reconnaissance aircraft over Tonga on Monday to assess the extent of the damage and prepare ships to deliver humanitarian aid.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said they had received an emergency signal on the Tongan island of Mango. The office added that the reconnaissance flights confirmed “significant property damage” on Mang and another island, Fonoi. According to the Tongan government, 36 people live on Mang and 69 on Fonoi. Images captured by the New Zealand Armed Forces showed “catastrophic damage” to the remote island of Atata. The islands of Fonoifua, Niniva, Nomuka and Mango have suffered extensive to catastrophic damage, Reuters reports.

The Tongan capital, Nuku’alofa, was covered by two inches of volcanic ash and dust, and electricity supply was cut off in many neighborhoods. Saturday’s eruption of Hunga Tong-Hunga Ha’apai volcano near one of the uninhabited islands of Tonga was so strong that it could only be heard in Alaska. It also caused tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean that flooded the coast from Japan to the United States and killed two people in Peru.