Climate
Tsunami hits California’s coast after underwater volcano erupts in Tonga
Several tsunami warnings for the west coast of the United States have been canceled as the danger subsided
January 16, 2022 9:54am
Updated: January 29, 2022 8:02am
A tsunami that followed the eruption of an underwater volcano in Tonga hit the west coast of the United States and Canada on Saturday, causing minor flooding in parts of California.
“A tsunami is occurring along the AK, British Columbia, & US West Coast,” announced the U.S. Tsunami Warning Service on Saturday.
A #Tsunami is occurring along the AK, British Columbia, & US West Coast. Here are some of the latest water level observations we've recorded. Move to high ground and stay away from the coastline. Follow instructions from your local emergency management officials.
— NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) January 15, 2022
-tsunami.gov pic.twitter.com/yqTS2rlDA0
The volcano's impact managed to reach Californian land despite that the state is located almost 8,700 kilometers from the South Pacific island nation of Tonga.
The tsunami caused minor flooding in the port of Santa Cruz. Even though areas near the coast were evacuated, no one was forced to leave their homes, city administrator Elizabeth Smith told CNN.
Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, advised people to stay out of the water and away from beaches since it is "unusual" to activate a tsunami warning for a volcanic eruption and not an undersea earthquake.
Several users shared videos of the flooding on the coast of California after the eruption.
The scene at the Santa Cruz Harbor as a tsunami generated tidal surge causing damage Saturday morning #TsunamiAdvisory pic.twitter.com/9ijKU9ZVaK
— Vern Fisher (@VFisher45) January 15, 2022
Despite the tsunami warning issued on Saturday that urged residents to evacuate to higher ground immediately, the warnings have since been canceled as the danger has subsided.
Toga’s submarine volcano eruption
The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai submarine volcano triggered a massive ash pillar that was kilometers high.
The eruption of around eight minutes was recorded on Saturday at around 17.20 (local time), causing huge waves that crashed on the coast of the Tongan island.
Several seismological agencies posted satellite images on Twitter that recorded the blast.
Urgente 🔴 Satelites entregan registros de la gran explosion en #tonga #tsunami #tsunamiwarning pic.twitter.com/KFm46LF9R6
— 🅸🅽🅵🅾🆂🅸🆂🅼🅾🅻🅾🅶🅸🅲 (@EarthquakeChil1) January 15, 2022
