Tonga eruption was "hundreds of times" but that the Hiroshima atomic bomb, says NASA

They capture shock waves 5,000 km from the Tonga volcano 0:47

(CNN) ––

The eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga this month was hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, NASA said.

Jim Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano on January 15 released "hundreds of times the mechanical energy equivalent of the Hiroshima nuclear explosion." ".

Precisely, in reference to one of the two atomic bombs that the United States dropped on Japan during World War II.

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"This is a preliminary estimate. But, we believe that the amount of energy released by the eruption is equivalent to between 4 and 18 megatons of TNT," Garvin told NASA's Earth Observatory website.

By comparison, scientists estimate that the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption released 24 megatons of energy.

Meanwhile, Krakatoa, one of the largest volcanic events in history, erupted in 1883 with 200 megatons, according to NASA.

The Tonga tsunami swept this man away and he spent 27 hours at sea!

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The eruption near Tonga sent volcanic material up to 40 kilometers into the atmosphere.

In addition, it generated tsunami waves up to 15 meters high that hit parts of the archipelago, including the main island of the Pacific nation.

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A volcanic cloud spread to cover the country's roughly 170 islands, according to Tonga's prime minister.

What affected the entire population of more than 100,000 people.

Satellite images from January 6 (left) and January 18 (right) show the impact of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcanic eruption.

Changes in land mass of volcano near Tonga after eruption

Garvin and a team of international researchers assessed changes in the volcano's landmass since 2015, when an eruption connected two pre-existing islands, Hunga Ha'apai and Hunga Tonga, into a single landmass.

After this month's eruption, all of the new land has been gone along with "big chunks" of the two pre-existing islands, the researchers said.

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The eruption and tsunami claimed the lives of at least three people.

In addition to destroying hundreds of homes and leaving remote islands isolated from the world without communication.

The photos show entire communities on the island covered in thick volcanic ash and debris.

Aid agencies and politicians in Tonga have warned of potential food shortages after ash ruined crops.

Meanwhile, rescuers scrambled to bring drinking water to the islands.

The first contactless relief flights arrived in Tonga last week, with the coronavirus-free nation taking precautions to keep the virus out.

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