The “tsunami”, part of which was documented in the videos, came after the eruption of the Hongga Tonga Hong Hapai volcano under the sea.
Tonga is located in Oceania, an archipelago of 176 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, on the sea route between Hawaii and New Zealand.
According to the Associated Press, the eruption of the volcano sent huge waves crashing into the shore and forcing citizens to rush to higher ground.
The authorities in this country had announced earlier a warning of the occurrence of a tsunami.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or the extent of damage, as communications with the small country remain problematic.
A video clip posted on social media showed huge waves crashing into beaches in coastal areas and swirling around homes and buildings.
For its part, the New Zealand military said it is monitoring the situation and remains on alert and ready to assist if requested to do so.
Authorities in the nearby islands of Fiji and Samoa also issued a warning, telling people to avoid the shoreline due to strong currents and dangerous waves.
The islands business news site reported that a convoy of police and army soldiers evacuated Tonga’s King Tubu VI from his palace near the beach.
The king was among the many residents who headed to higher regions.
In a related context, a US-based tsunami monitoring center said it had detected tsunamis in the capital of Tonga and the capital of American Samoa.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it detected waves 2.7 feet (83 centimeters) in Nuku Alofa and two feet in Pago Pago, the capital of Samoa.
Fiji issued a tsunami warning, urging residents to avoid beaches “due to strong currents and dangerous waves”.
On Facebook, the Tonga Geological Service posted a post saying that the volcano had released ash, steam and gas up to 20 kilometers into the air.
The radius of the volcano is 260 km.
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