Context
Recently, the experts said that the Tonga volcano wave was 9 times taller than the tsunami in Japan.
Key-points
- The initial tsunami wave created by Tonga’s underwater Hunga Tonga volcano eruption in 2022 was 90 metres high.
- It was nine times higher than the tsunami recorded near Japan in 2011.
- The volcano is located approximately 70 km from the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa; this distance significantly minimizes its destructive power.
- The Tonga volcano eruption unleashed more energy than the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated.
About Tonga
- It is a Polynesian country and also an archipelago consisting of 171 islands of which 45 are inhabited.
- Located in Oceania, Tonga is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean.
- It is surrounded by-
- Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest
- Samoa to the northeast
- New Caledonia (France)
- Vanuatu to the west
- Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east
- Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest
- Tonga has a tropical rainforest climate.
Significance of the recent findings
- Disaster management: The eruption should serve as a wake-up call for organisations working to safeguard people from such disasters in the future.
- Monitoring of volcanic activity should be organised: More high-quality research into volcanic eruptions is always a good idea.
- It is important to have efficient warning systems: which include both real time warnings and education on what to do in case of a tsunami or warning such systems save lives.
