At dawn on the 16th, a tsunami warning was issued in Japan for the first time in five years, and there was an evacuation in the middle of the night. It was caused by the eruption of an underwater volcano in the South Pacific, 8,000 kilometers away. The power was so great that the volcanic ash column soared more than 19 km and was clearly captured by the satellite.
Correspondent Lee Jae-seung.
[기자]
Volcanic ash erupts from the waters of Tonga, an island nation in the South Pacific, like a bomb exploded.
A column of volcanic ash and gas soared more than 19 kilometers above the sea.
Powerful volcanic eruptions affected many countries along the Pacific coast.
Restraining orders have been placed on most coasts of the western United States.
A tsunami warning has been issued in Japan for the first time in five years.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued an evacuation order for 230,000 people.
The late-night evacuation order led to a queue of vehicles in the middle of the night.
A tsunami of about 1 m was observed across the country.
[김명수/기상청 지진분석전문관 : 화산으로 인해서 쓰나미가 발생하는 경우는 약 5% 정도, 스무 번에서 한 번 정도 발생하는 경우라고 말할 수 있습니다.]
It had little effect on Korea.
The volcanic eruption occurred 8400 km away from Jeju Island.
A wave height of about 10cm was created on the coast of Jeju, but it was less than 50cm according to the tsunami warning issued.
The large-scale explosion has stopped immediately, but there are concerns about the possibility of further eruptions in the local area.
(Video design: Kwak Se-mi)
