Tonga was hit by a tsunami, triggered by the eruption of an underwater volcano off the coast. Not many people know where this country is.
Tonga or the Kingdom of Tonga is located in the South Pacific Ocean, about 3,200 km east of Brisbane, Australia. Citing information from UNDP and the CIA World Factbook, Tonga is a country in Polynesia in the form of an archipelago. The capital city of this country is called Nuku'alofa, which is on the island of Tongatapu.
It has 177 islands, the total area of Tonga is about 750 square kilometers, which is spread over 700 thousand square kilometers in the southern Pacific Ocean. Of the 177 islands, 52 are inhabited by 103 thousand inhabitants. As many as 70% of the population in Tonga resides on the main island of Tongatapu.
The territory of Tonga stretches for more than 8,000 kilometers along the north-south line, or about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Bugil Island. The island is surrounded by Fiji, Wallis and Futuna (Netherlands) to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, Niue to the east, Kermadec (part of New Zealand) to the southwest, and New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the far west.
The eruption of an underwater volcano
The eruption of an underwater volcano not only caused a tsunami in Tonga, but also affected a number of countries. The volcano that erupted was the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai underwater volcano, which is located in the Pacific Ocean region, and is part of the country of Tonga.
The eruption that occurred on Saturday (15/1) afternoon local time had an impact across the Pacific. Tsunami warnings were issued in several areas of New Zealand, Japan, and the United States.
The highest wave observed was 120 cm on Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, followed by a wave of 110 cm at Kuku Harbor in Iwate Prefecture. So far, there have been no reports of damage to the tsunami in Japan.
A tsunami warning is in effect for all low-lying coastal areas of Samoa, with residents and visitors advised to stay away from coastal areas.
In New Zealand, the emergency management agency issued a warning about tsunami activity for the country's north and east coasts. Hawaii reported tsunami waves as high as 0.5 meters in Nawiliwili, Kauai and 80 cm in Hanalei.
Meanwhile, the first wave that hit the mainland United States was about 33 cm in Nikolski, Alaska and 59 cm in Adak, Alaska. The US National Tsunami Warning Center reported waves of about 79 cm were observed in Monterey, California.
On the central coast of California, the National Weather Service reported tsunami waves as high as 1.2 meters and flooding in a beach parking lot in Port San Luis.
