![]() Tragically, however, there were still five fatalities, and according to the World Bank, the devastation wrought by this wave and the ashfall that blanketed the kingdom soon after caused an estimated 90.4 million U.S. Thankfully, in the case of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption, the distance between the volcano and the Tongan coast seriously reduced the destructive potential of the wave. If the maximum height were true, the displacement wave would have been nearly nine times the height of the wave that struck the Japanese coast in 2011, causing widespread damage and loss of life. The computer simulations run by the team revealed that the volcano could have displaced a staggering 6,600 million cubic meters of water, creating a 12 km (~39370 ft.)-wide wave that had a maximum height of 90 meters (~295000 ft.) above sea level. “We are under-prepared for volcanic tsunamis” A combination of the water displacement from the eruption and these pressure waves both fed into the January event, creating a two-stage tsunami.Ĭoastal regions were first hit by fast moving waves triggered by the atmospheric pressure, which were followed roughly an hour afterwards by the large wave triggered by the eruption-induced water displacement. When conducting their study, the scientists used data collected by sea-level coastal tide gauges, and air pressure recordings.Īccording to the team, the eruption created powerful atmospheric pressure waves that swept around the Earth multiple times. ![]() ![]() The sheer violence of the eruption, which took place roughly 70 km northwest of Nuku’alofa - the capital city of the Kingdom of Tonga - was enough to trigger the creation of a truly gargantuan wave, which proceeded to travel outward towards the coast before striking the shore. ![]()
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