(NewsNation Now) — The eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga was hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima nuclear explosion, scientists say.
The eruption severed Tonga’s single fiber-optic cable, knocking the entire Pacific archipelago offline and unable to communicate with the rest of the world — and leaving their loved ones terrified about what might have happened.
Surging waves caused by the eruption prompted Peru to declare an environmental emergency after 21 beaches on the Pacific coast were contaminated by an oil spill at a refinery run by Spain-based Repsol.
NASA scientists estimate that the volcanic blast released an amount of energy equivalent to between 4 and 18 megatons of TNT.
That’s compared to the estimated 24 megatons released when Mount St. Helens exploded in 1980 and 200 megatons of energy when Krakatoa burst in 1883, according to the NASA Earth Observatory’s website.
U.N. humanitarian officials report that about 84,000 people — more than 80% of Tonga’s population — have been impacted by the volcano’s eruption, U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, pointing to three deaths, injuries, loss of homes and polluted water.
Three of Tonga’s smaller islands suffered serious damage from tsunami waves, officials and the Red Cross said.
The U.N.’s Dujarric said “all houses have apparently been destroyed on the island of Mango and only two houses remain on Fonoifua island, with extensive damage reported on Nomuka.” He said evacuations are underway for people from the islands.
According to Tongan census figures, Mango is home to 36 people, Fonoifua is home to 69 people, and Nomuka to 239. The majority of Tongans live on the main island of Tongatapu, where about 50 homes were destroyed.