Volcano eruption causes tsunami and flooding up to 10,000km away from its source near Tonga

A massive undersea volcanic eruption that triggered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake near Tonga has caused tsunami waves and extensive flooding up to 10,000km away from the epicentre.

Lasting eight minutes, the eruption could be heard as ‘loud thunder sounds’ more than 800km away in Fiji, officials in the capital Suva said. 

The effect of the volcanic eruption has been felt in New Zealand, the US, Canada and South America.  

Warnings were also triggered for much of the east coast of Australia, Fiji, New Vanuatu, American Samoa, Lord Howe Island, Macquarie Island and Norkfolk Island. 

Tsunami waves of up to 1.3metres were recorded in Port San Luis, California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia in Canada and Alaska.

Tonga was hit by a second tsunami after the massive undersea Honga Hapai volcano erupted.

The country’s consulate has spoken of the devastation.

‘This is incredibly sad. The damage being done to the Kingdom of Tonga is extreme,’ the consulate wrote on Twitter. ‘The people of Kingdom are strong. Sending prayers to Tonga. Ofa lahi atu.’ 

All internet connectivity with Tonga was lost at about 6.40pm local time on Saturday, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis for the network intelligence firm Kentik.

Southern Cross Cable Network, the company that manages the connection, does not know yet ‘if the cable is cut or just suffering power loss,’ chief technical officer Dean Veverka said. 

Professor Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at the University of Auckland, said the eruption was one of the biggest in Tonga in the past 30 years.

‘This is a pretty big event – it’s one of the more significant eruptions of the last decade at least,’ he told the BBC.

‘The most remarkable thing about it is how rapidly and violently it’s spread. This one was larger, a much wider lateral spread, much more ash was produced. 

‘I expect there to be many centimetres of ash that have been deposited on Tonga.’ 

Pictures have been tweeted of children sleeping in tents in Tonga after being evacuated from their homes.

One resident, Mere Taufa, said the eruption hit as her family was preparing for dinner, and her younger brother thought bombs were exploding nearby.

‘My first instinct was to take cover under the table, I grabbed my little sister, and screamed at my parents and others in the house to do the same,’ New Zealand news site Stuff.co.nz quoted her as saying.

Ms Taufa said the next thing she knew, water was rushing into their home.

‘You could just hear screams everywhere, people screaming for safety, for everyone to get to higher ground,’ she said.

The Morrison Government said no Australians were injured in Tonga, but the eruption led to a major surf event in Sydney being cancelled on Sunday. 

It is still unknown if anyone has died or been seriously injured in Tonga due communications being down. 

Health Minister Greg Hunt said Foreign Minister Marise Payne and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) are working with Tongan authorities.

‘DFAT will continue to engage with the Tongan Government and has offered through the foreign minister all possible support that may be required,’ Mr Hunt said.

In New Zealand, a dock was torn apart in a marina at Tutukaka on the North Island on Sunday after waves from the volcanic eruption swept in. 

The marina and some campgrounds in Northland were evacuated due to the surge which caused ‘significant damage’, sinking a number of boats and badly damaging others.  

New Zealand’s emergency management agency issued an advisory on tsunami activity for its north and east coasts.

The areas, 2,300km from the epicentre, experienced strong and unusual currents, and unpredictable surges at the shore.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said images of the violent volcanic eruption near Tonga were ‘hugely concerning’. 

‘[Our] defence force team and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working as we speak to establish what’s needed and how we can help,’ Ms Ardern said.

New Zealand telecommunications companies 2degrees and Spark are offering to waive all fees for those trying to phone friends and family in Tonga. 

Fiji also issued a tsunami warning, urging residents to avoid the shorelines ‘due to strong currents and dangerous waves’.

The Fijian Government has opened evacuation centres for people in coastal areas. 

Vanuatu, another island nation in the Pacific, issued a similar warning. 

In the US, despite the dire warnings, spectators flocked to beaches to view the surging tsunami waves, and some surfers threw caution to the wind to catch them. 

In Santa Cruz, video showed significant flooding near the harbour, with at least one vehicle caught in the surge. 

In Japan, authorities warned of waves as high as 3m. A 1.2m tsunami was recorded in the Kominato district of Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture at 11.55pm on Saturday (1.55am AEDT).

The tsunami also reached South America and caused serious flooding in Peru on the west coast of the continent. 

The Chilean coast of Los Rios, almost 10,000km from Tonga, was also been affected. 

Chilean beaches were left empty after a mass evacuation along its extensive coastline, which stretches more than half the length of the continent’s west coast. 

Chile’s National Emergency Management Authority issued a tsunami warning in three regions of the country following the Honga Hapai volcano eruption.

‘Based on the new assessments, the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy has declared a tsunami threat to coastal areas in the Los Lagos region,’ it wrote on Twitter.

‘The threat of a tsunami has also been announced in the regions of Coquimbo and Los Rios.’

Authorities urged citizens to leave coastal areas and move to higher ground. 

In Peru, authorities went to great lengths to reassure the public that the receding ocean was not the sign of a tsunami – though the tsunami did cause higher waters and flooding.

After fellow South American countries with Pacific coastlines, such as Chile and Ecuador were put on alert, several videos on San Bartolo beach in Peru showed the sea receding, alarming swimmers.  

‘After an analysis and evaluation through the National Tsunami Warning Center of this Directorate, it is reported that this event does not generate a tsunami on the Peruvian coast,’ the Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation of the Peruvian Navy said in a statement.

Lorena Márquez Ísmodes, the head of Peru’s National Tsunami Warning Centre, said there was no tsunami warning in Peru, despite that being the case in other coastal South American countries.

‘There is no tsunami alert, there has been a volcanic eruption in Tonga. This impact has travelled throughout the Pacific Ocean, but the population should not be alarmed,’ he told TV station Canal N.  

However, Mr Márquez said that in Chile, where there is a tsunami warning, the situation is different.

‘In Chile they issued a precautionary alert, but they have wave amplitudes between 20 and 30cm. The wave (in that country) can arrive in a different way than we do,’ South American news site infobae.com reported.