Geologist Warns Next Big Eruption Could Happen In Hunga Tonga
JAKARTA – The underwater volcano called Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, which erupted near Tonga and caused a tsunami, could erupt again in a few days. However, Saturday's explosion, January 15, 2021, is probably the biggest explosion to date.
Shane Cronin, Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Auckland, has spent six nights camping at the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano after its last series of eruptions in 2015.
As part of a team of experts, Dr Cronin runs tests across the area to study volcanic behavior occurring below sea level and determine possible future eruptions. The team found evidence of "major eruptions" usually occurring approximately every 1,000 years.
While recent reports suggest the last major eruption occurred around 1100 ago, it looks like the area is headed for another large-scale eruption sequence.
This week, a series that began with a small eruption that shot smoke and ash into the air culminated in a massive wave caught on satellite footage on Saturday.
"When I look at past deposits of this volcano ... there is evidence of many, many eruptions during each of those episodes," said Dr Cronin. "So there may still be more eruptions to come in this story."
While this latest eruption could be called a "big eruption", Dr Cronin said it was possible that a "bigger" eruption could follow.
Over the weekend, Tsunami warnings were issued across much of the Pacific, including New Zealand, Canada and the US.
Little information can be known about the extent of damage or injury received from Tonga, which has about 105,000 inhabitants, due to internet access being disrupted following the eruption and tsunami.
Internet to Tonga flows via an undersea cable from Suva in Fiji. Dr Cronin said the cable itself could have been damaged or extinguished due to electricity shortages across the island caused by heavy ashfall which also blackened the sky.
Videos posted to social media showed huge waves sweeping the shores of coastal areas in the Pacific, circling around houses, churches and other buildings.
Satellite images also show a massive eruption, with plumes of ash, steam and gas rising like mushrooms over the blue Pacific waters.