Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY JAN 17 2022

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WORLD NEWS Monday 17 January 2022
Pacific tsunami threat recedes, volcano ash hinders response

By Nick Perry ing in a later post: “Raining
Associated Press ash and tiny pebbles, dark-
(AP) — The tsunami threat ness blanketing the sky.”
around the Pacific from a The explosion of the Hun-
huge undersea volcanic ga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai
eruption receded Sunday, volcano, about 64 kilo-
but the massive ash cloud meters (40 miles) north of
covering the tiny island na- Nuku’alofa, was the lat-
tion of Tonga prevented est in a series of dramatic
surveillance flights from eruptions. In late 2014 and
New Zealand to assess the early 2015, eruptions creat-
extent of damage. ed a small new island and
Satellite images showed disrupted international air
the spectacular eruption travel to the Pacific archi-
Saturday evening, with a pelago for several days.
plume of ash, steam and Earth imaging compa-
gas rising like a mushroom ny Planet Labs PBC had
above the blue Pacific wa- watched the island in re-
ters. A sonic boom could cent days after a new vol-
be heard as far away as canic vent began erupting
Alaska. in late December. Satellite
In Tonga it sent tsunami images showed how dras-
waves crashing across the This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite operated by Japan Mete- tically the volcano had
shore and people rushing orological Agency and released by National Institute of Information and Communications Tech- shaped the area, creating
to higher ground. nology (NICT), shows an undersea volcano eruption at the Pacific nation of Tonga Saturday, Jan. a growing island off Tonga.
The eruption cut the in- 15, 2022. (NICT via AP) “The surface area of the
ternet to Tonga, leaving island appears to have ex-
friends and family members pitch black. any widespread damage. said. panded by nearly 45% due
around the world anxiously “It’s really bad. They told us Snider said he anticipated U.S. Secretary of State Ant- to ashfall,” Planet Labs said
trying to get in touch to fig- to stay indoors and cover the tsunami situation in the ony Blinken wrote on Twitter days before the latest ac-
ure out if there were any our doors and windows U.S. and elsewhere to con- he is “deeply concerned tivity.
injuries. Even government because it’s dangerous,” tinue improving. for the people of Tonga as Following Saturday’s erup-
websites and other official she said. “I felt sorry for the Tsunami advisories were they recover from the after- tion, residents in Hawaii,
sources remained without people. Everyone just froze earlier issued for Japan, math of a volcanic erup- Alaska and along the U.S.
updates on Sunday after- when the explosion hap- Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. tion and tsunami. The Unit- Pacific coast were advised
noon. pened. We rushed home.” Pacific coast. The U.S. Geo- ed States stands prepared to move away from the
New Zealand Prime Min- Outside the house, people logical Survey estimated to provide support to our coastline to higher ground.
ister Jacinda Ardern said were seen carrying umbrel- the eruption caused the Pacific neighbors.” Savannah Peterson
there had not yet been las for protection. equivalent of a magnitude Tonga gets its internet via watched in shock as the
any official reports of inju- Ardern said New Zealand 5.8 earthquake. Scientists an undersea cable from water rose several feet in
ries or deaths in Tonga, but was unable to send a sur- said tsunamis generated Suva, Fiji. All internet con- a matter of minutes in front
cautioned that authorities veillance flight over Tonga by volcanoes rather than nectivity with Tonga was of her oceanfront house
hadn’t yet made contact on Sunday because the earthquakes are relatively lost at about 6:40 p.m. local in Pacifica, California, just
with some coastal areas ash cloud was 63,000 feet rare. time Saturday, said Doug south of San Francisco.
and smaller islands. (19,000 meters) high but Rachel Afeaki-Taumoe- Madory, director of internet “It came up so fast, and
“Communication with they hoped to try again on peau, who chairs the New analysis for the network in- a few minutes after that
Tonga remains very limited. Monday, followed by sup- Zealand Tonga Business telligence firm Kentik. it was down again. It was
And I know that is causing ply planes and navy ships. Council, said she hoped On Tonga, which is home to nuts to see that happen
a huge amount of anxiety One complicating factor the relatively low level of about 105,000 people, vid- so quickly,” she said. “I’ve
for the Tongan community to any international aid ef- the tsunami waves would eo posted to social media never had water come
here,” Ardern said. fort is that Tonga has so far have allowed most people showed large waves wash- all the way up to my front
She said there had been managed to avoid any to get to safety, although ing ashore in coastal areas door, and today it did.”
significant damage to outbreaks of COVID-19. Ar- she worried about those and swirling around homes, In northern Peru’s Lam-
boats and shops along dern said New Zealand’s living on islands closest to a church and other build- bayeque region, two wom-
the Tongan coastline. The military staff were all fully the volcano. She said she ings. A Twitter user identi- en drowned after being
capital, Nuku’alofa, was vaccinated and willing to hadn’t yet been able to fied as Dr. Faka’iloatonga swept away by ″abnormal
covered in a thick film of follow any protocols estab- contact her friends and Taumoefolau posted video waves″ following the erup-
volcanic dust, Ardern said, lished by Tonga. family in Tonga. showing waves crashing tion, authorities said. A doz-
contaminating water sup- Dave Snider, the tsunami “We are praying that the ashore. en restaurants and a coast-
plies and making fresh wa- warning coordinator for the damage is just to infrastruc- “Can literally hear the vol- al street were also flooded
ter a vital need. National Tsunami Warning ture and people were able cano eruption, sounds pret- along El Chaco beach in
Aid agencies said thick ash Center in Palmer, Alaska, to get to higher land,” she ty violent,” he wrote, add- Paracas district.q
and smoke had prompted said it was very unusual for
authorities to ask people to a volcanic eruption to af- LIKE US ON
wear masks and drink bot- fect an entire ocean ba-
tled water. sin, and the spectacle was
In a video posted on Face- both “humbling and scary.”
book, Nightingale Filihia The tsunami waves caused
was sheltering at her fami- damage to boats as far
ly’s home from a rain of vol- away as New Zealand and
canic ash and tiny pieces Santa Cruz, California, but
of rock that turned the sky did not appear to cause Facebook.com/arubatoday/