<\/div>\n

Tonga’s King Tupou VI was reported to have been evacuated from the Royal Palace in Nuku’alofa and taken by a police convoy to a villa well away from the coastline.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The initial eruption lasted at least eight minutes and sent plumes of gas, ash and smoke several kilometres into the air.<\/p>\n

Residents in coastal areas were urged to head for higher ground.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

– ‘Keep away’ –<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

The eruption was so intense it was heard as “loud thunder sounds” in Fiji more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) away, officials in Suva said.<\/p>\n

Fijian officials warned residents to cover water collection tanks in case of acidic rain fall.<\/p>\n

Victorina Kioa of the Tonga Public Service Commission said Friday that people should “keep away from areas of warning which are low-lying coastal areas, reefs and beaches”.<\/p>\n

The head of Tonga Geological Services, Taaniela Kula, urged people to stay indoors, wear a mask if they were outside and cover rainwater reservoirs and rainwater harvesting systems.<\/p>\n

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a “tsunami advisory” for American Samoa, saying there was a threat of “sea level fluctuations and strong ocean currents that could be a hazard along beaches”.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Similar warnings were issued by authorities in New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Chile and Australia — where authorities said a swathe of coastline, including Sydney, could be hit by tsunami waves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

People in surrounding New South Wales state were “advised to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water’s edge”.<\/p>\n

Tsunami warnings were also issued for the entire US West Coast, and waves triggered low-level flooding in Hawaii.<\/p>\n

The US National Weather Service issued tsunami advisories from California to Alaska, predicting waves of up to two feet, strong rip currents and coastal flooding.<\/p>\n

“Move off the beach and out of harbors and marinas in these areas,” it advised.<\/p>\n

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said “a tsunami is currently being observed” in Hawaii, but said there was “no reported damage and only minor flooding throughout the islands”.<\/p>\n

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano sits on an uninhabited island about 65 kilometres north of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Frightened Tongans fled to higher ground Saturday after a massive volcanic eruption that triggered tsunami warnings across the South Pacific, including the entire US West Coast. The latest eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano came just a few hours after a separate Friday tsunami warning was lifted due to the eruption. Dramatic images from space showed the moment the eruption sent a mushroom of smoke and ash into the air and a shockwave across the surrounding sea. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said a tsunami wave measuring 1.2 metres (four feet) had been observed at Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa. Mere Taufa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[544,562],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-yeswecantv-news"],"yoast_head":"\n