A catastrophic eruption of an underwater volcano in the Kingdom of Tonga has literally sent shockwaves around half the world.
Over the last few decades, the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano has erupted on a regular basis. Hot jets of magma and steam erupted through the waves during events in 2009 and 2014/15. However, these eruptions were minor in comparison to the January 2022 occurrences.
On January 15, a massive explosion erupted from the volcano.
A tsunami shortly followed, much to everyone's shock. It struck just a few dozen miles to the south of the volcano on Tongatapu, the kingdom's major island and home to the capital, Nuku'alofa. As the streets began to flood and people ran for their lives, communications were disrupted.
In Alaska, Oregon, Washington State, and British Columbia, tsunami waves, albeit smaller ones, rushed across the enormous ocean to sections of the Pacific Northwest, producing surges. Minor tsunami waves were also detected at stations in California, Mexico, and sections of South America.
According to recent studies on the volcano's geologic history, this intense paroxysm is a relatively rare event on human timescales: such an eruption is thought to occur about once per thousand years.
For Tonga, "this is a potentially devastating event, and it's horrifying to watch," Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program told National Geographic. "I feel sick thinking about it."
Scientists and a frightened public want to know what produced such a tremendous explosion and what will happen next. However, information has been sluggish to surface, in part due to the volcano's remoteness and difficulty in observing it up close.
So now comes the question that everyone wants to know the answer to: "Is it over?"
Scientists admit they are not entirely sure.
Many elements of this massive eruptive episode remain unknown, partially because the island is currently shrouded by ash clouds.
According to experts, this terrible eruption could be a result of the volcano's shallow magma reservoir being effectively decapitated and its molten contents being expelled quickly. To increase their understanding of future eruptions and bolster efforts to limit their impacts, volcanologists will conduct significant research on this eruption.
To date, the first tsunami waves have been felt on the West Coast of the U.S., according to Dave Snider of the National Weather Service's National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska.
He told CNN that a wave as tall as 1.2 feet was seen in Nikolski, Alaska, while waves as tall as 1 foot were seen in Atka, Adak, and King Cove.
"This may not be the largest wave as this is coming in yet," Snider said.
It's too early to tell how things will play out in the aftermath of this eruption. For the time being, all eyes are on Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai.
