The tsunami threat around the Pacific from a huge undersea volcanic eruption receded on Sunday, but a massive ash cloud covering the tiny island nation of Tonga prevented surveillance flights from New Zealand from assessing the extent of damage.
Satellite images showed the spectacular eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano that took place on Saturday with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a mushroom above the blue Pacific waters. A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there had not yet been any official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga, but cautioned that authorities had not yet made contact with some coastal areas and smaller islands.
The capital, Nuku’alofa, about 64km (40 miles) south of the volcano, was covered in a thick film of volcanic dust, Ardern said, contaminating water supplies and making freshwater a vital need.
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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/16/tsunami-threat-recedes-volcano-ash-hinders-response-in-tonga