Tsunami Threat for US West Coast After Undersea Volcano Eruption In South Pacific
(Chaz Anon) What would make for a good distraction from all the Covid madness we have been living under? Well a Tsunami of course. Social media reports indicate a surge of water has begun to hit the United States West Coast after a massive undersea volcano erupted Saturday off the South Pacific island of Tonga.
The National Weather Service's (NWS) National Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 1 to 3 feet are expected for parts of the West Coast.
In Santa Cruz, a coastal town in central California, someone tweeted a video of the rising water level.
Def rise now in the back harbor! #santacruz pic.twitter.com/wmenlXWluJ
— Tim Cattera Photo (@TimCatteraPhoto) January 15, 2022
Breaking: Flooding is occurring in Santa Cruz, California, due to tsunami from Tonga volcanic eruption. pic.twitter.com/FAQhALg0GV
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) January 15, 2022
#tongatsunami #santacruz #santacruztsunami video taken by Dori Vance from the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, CA pic.twitter.com/QXhgudgG5e
— #MedicareForAll (@AlanWilsonWatts) January 15, 2022
Tsunami - surge in Ventura Harbor, CA. Pics taken at 9:01 am and 9:25 am local time.#tsunami #California #tsunamitonga #ventura pic.twitter.com/Ex4jGy4GVE
— Wave Talkers (@wavetalkers) January 15, 2022
Tsunami - surge in Ventura Harbor, CA. Pics taken at 9:01 am and 9:25 am local time.#tsunami #California #tsunamitonga #ventura pic.twitter.com/Ex4jGy4GVE
— Wave Talkers (@wavetalkers) January 15, 2022
⚠️Reminder: Please avoid California coasts today‼️
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) January 15, 2022
Tsunami activity is beginning to cause coastal flooding and is expected to continue throughout the day. Please follow our coastal neighbors @NWSBayArea and @NWSEureka for more information. #CAwx https://t.co/zm9ArXjwDm
People waking up in San Diego have received a terrifying "emergency alert" on their phones warning them about a tsunami that may occur around 0750 PST. "Waves of 1 to 3 feet are possible," the alert said. Here's what one reader in Mission Beach sent us:
Across the West Coast of the United States, a tsunami advisory is in effect for Saturday morning. The advisories were issued after a massive undersea volcano erupted Saturday off the South Pacific island of Tonga.
"A tsunami has been confirmed and some impacts are expected," the National Weather Service's National Tsunami Warning Center said early Saturday. The advisory covers:
The California coast from the California-Mexico border to the Oregon-California border, including San Francisco Bay.
The Oregon coast from the Oregon-California border to the Oregon-Washington border, including the Columbia River estuary coast.
The outer coast of Washington state from the Oregon-Washington border to Slip Point, Columbia River estuary coast, and the Juan de Fuca Strait coast.
The north coast of British Columbia, and Haida Gwaii, the central coast and northeast Vancouver Island, the outer west coast of Vancouver Island, the Juan de Fuca Strait coast.
The inner and outer coast of Southeast Alaska from the BC-Alaska border to Cape Fairweather, Alaska.
South Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula: Pacific coasts from Cape Fairweather, Alaska, to Unimak Pass, Alaska.
Aleutian Islands: Unimak Pass, Alaska, to Attu, Alaska including the Pribilof Islands.
* * *
An undersea volcanic eruption occurred 40 miles off the coast of the South Pacific country of Tonga on Saturday.
Satellite imagery shows the eruption unleashed a massive shockwave as a plume of ash was flung 12.4 miles into the atmosphere.
US Storm Watch said the eruption was the "most violent" eruption ever captured on satellite footage.
Tonga's Hunga Tonga volcano just had one of the most violent volcano eruptions ever captured on satellite. pic.twitter.com/M2D2j52gNn
— US StormWatch (@US_Stormwatch) January 15, 2022
Some have compared the eruption to the "Hiroshima" nuclear bomb explosion.
Shortly after the eruption, a tsunami warning was posted for Tonga. An advisory was issued for New Zealand's North Island. CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand (RNZ) said a tsunami hit Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, flooding coastal roads and properties.
Tsunami videos out of Tonga 🇹🇴 this afternoon following the Volcano Eruption. pic.twitter.com/JTIcEdbpGe
— Jese Tuisinu (@JTuisinu) January 15, 2022
It is literally dark in parts of Tonga and people are rushing to safety following the eruption. 🇹🇴 pic.twitter.com/7NoP0y9GCo
— Jese Tuisinu (@JTuisinu) January 15, 2022
This family were in church. They’d just finish having choir practice and the tsunami hit 😩❤️🇹🇴 pic.twitter.com/DLLFRJ9BAc
— KNOWKNEE (@JohnnyTeisi) January 15, 2022
Stay safe everyone 🇹🇴 pic.twitter.com/OhrrxJmXAW
— Dr Faka’iloatonga Taumoefolau (@sakakimoana) January 15, 2022
Prof Shane Cronin, a volcanologist at the University of Auckland, told BCC this eruption is the biggest Tonga has seen in three decades.
"This is a pretty big event - it's one of the more significant eruptions of the last decade at least.
"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,' Cronin said.