The Underwater Volcano outside Tonga erupted on Saturday, triggered a tsunami warning for several South Pacific Island countries, with footage on social media that showed waves crashing into a house.
The tsunami waves were observed in the capital city of Tonga and the capital of the American Samoa, the US-based tsunami monitor said.
The eruption at 0410 GMT from the Under Mountain Hunga Tonga-Husa Ha’apai, is located about 65 km (40 miles) North Nuku’alofa, causing a 1.2 meter tsunami, the Australian Meteorology Bureau said.
The agency said he continued to monitor the situation but there was no tsunami threat released for land, islands or Australian regions.
2.7 feet tsunami waves (83 cm) were observed by gauges in the capital of Nuku’alofa and 2 feet in Pago Pago, the American Samoa capital, the Pacific Tsunami warning center.
The US-based monitor then canceled the warning for the US region of Samoa and Hawaii America, but said the tsunami remained a threat to the Pacific parts closer to the volcano.
Fiji issued a tsunami warning, urging residents to avoid the coastline “because of strong currents and dangerous waves.” Jese Tuisinu, a television reporter in Fiji One, posted a video on Twitter which showed a big waves that washing land, with people who tried to escape from the waves approaching their cars.
“It is literally dark in some parts of Tonga and people rushed security after the eruption,” he said.
The New Zealand Emergency Management Agency issued an advisor on tsunami activities for the north and east coast with regions expected to experience strong and unusual currents, and a surge that cannot be predicted on the beach.
On Friday, the volcano sent ash, steam and gas to 20 km (12 miles) to the air, said the geological service Tonga at Facebook post.
It has a radius of 260 km (160 miles).