500 Atomic Bombs: Strength of Volcano Eruption in Australia Assessed

NASA researchers have determined that the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga, located in the Pacific Ocean (Australia), which occurred on January 14, was more terrifying than an atomic bomb explosion, NPR reports.

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano was so powerful that the volcanic island formed in 2015 was literally torn apart. Tonga is now in ruins, without electricity or an airport.

The noise of the explosion, equivalent to that of 10 megatons of TNT, was heard as far away as Alaska. So far, three deaths have been confirmed. In addition, scientists assert that this eruption was the most powerful since the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, and its intensity is comparable to the impact of 500 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

The explosion generated a massive tsunami, destroying all houses on Mango Island. Due to rising ocean levels, the platform connecting the island's two shores has been destroyed. The island has disappeared into the ocean.

Scientists are trying to understand how an explosion that lasted only 60 minutes could lead to such a disaster. It should be noted that the shock waves from the volcanic eruption reached Ukraine. The shock waves circled the planet twice. And in Antarctica, nearly eight thousand kilometers from the eruption, the waves reached 60 cm.