(ORDO NEWS) — The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Haapai Volcano, the eruption of which caused a natural disaster in the Kingdom of Tonga in January 2022, will remain active in the coming years, but the likelihood of new serious disasters is low.
This conclusion was reached by scientists from the New Zealand State Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), who published a report on the study of the volcano on Tuesday.
The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Haapai volcano, located on the island of the same name in the Tonga archipelago, began on January 14.
On January 15, a strong explosion and active volcanic activity caused a series of small tsunamis, as a result of which the capital of the country, Nuku’alofa, located on the northern coast of the island of Tongatapu, and several small islands of the archipelago were badly damaged.
The submarine cable, which provided the Kingdom of Tonga with access to the Internet, telephone communications and communications between the islands of the archipelago, was cut off, and it was partially restored only by February 22.
“The likelihood that another strong eruption will occur in the coming years is quite small, however, it is still active.
After the strongest explosion on record recorded on January 15, 2022, one would assume that the volcano has exhausted its resources completely, but it didn’t happen,” said NIWA volcanologist Kevin McKay, noting that every two to three years the volcano will be active, but this will not pose a danger.
Scientists were surprised that much of the marine life around the volcano was able to survive its eruption.
“Although the bottom immediately around the volcano is barren, at some distance from it we saw vast “living” areas with an abundance of corals, sponges, starfish and mussels, which indicates the stability of underwater ecosystems and gives hope for their rapid recovery,” said the marine biologist NIWA Malcolm Clark.
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