Tonga | An underwater volcanic eruption caused a tsunami in Tonga 1.2 meters high – tsunami warning issued for the west coast of the United States

Huge a submarine volcanic eruption caused a tsunami in Tonga on Saturday, according to AFP and the broadcaster BBC.

“A 1.2-meter tsunami wave has been spotted in Nuku’alofa [Tongan pääkaupunki]”Says the Australian Meteorological Institute on Twitter.

The United States the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a warning of a possible tsunami that could strike large areas of the country’s west coast. The warning also applies to parts of Alaska and Hawaii.

“[Tsunamin] effects may include floods in low-lying areas, coastal floods and strong coastal flows, ”NWS tweeted.

The height of the tsunami could be as high as 60 centimeters, according to the NWS. In the early days of Finnish time, the NWS has only observed mild floods in Hawaii, but it urges people to avoid beaches and harbors.

Tongan people living on the coast quickly fled to higher parts of the island after receiving a tsunami warning after the eruption.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, about 65 kilometers from Nuku’alofa in the South Pacific, erupted just hours after the previous tsunami warning issued to the area on Friday had been lifted.

The eruption, which lasted about eight minutes, threw gas, ash and smoke into the sky for several kilometers.

About the eruption the outgoing sound was so loud that it was heard as the “loud sound of thunder” even more than 800 kilometers away in Fiji.

Fijian authorities instructed residents to cover their water collection tanks in case of any acid rain caused by the eruption.

In Tonga, authorities advised people to stay indoors and away from the coast.

Pacific the tsunami warning center issued a tsunami alert to american samoa warning of sea level rise fluctuations and strong ocean currents that could pose a threat to the coast.

Similar instructions have been issued by the New Zealand, Vanuatu and Australian authorities since the eruption.