NASA Estimates , Massive Tonga Blast Erupted, With a Force of 10 Megatons.
NPR reports that NASA researchers have
estimated the power of a massive January 15
eruption near the island nation of Tonga. .
NPR reports that NASA researchers have
estimated the power of a massive January 15
eruption near the island nation of Tonga. .
We come up with a number that's
around 10 megatons of TNT equivalent, James Garvin, the chief scientist at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center, via NPR.
NPR points out that the explosive force of the eruption was as powerful as the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the conclusion of WWII. .
A geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the blast, which was heard as far away as Alaska, was likely one of the loudest events to occur in over a century. .
This might be the loudest eruption since [the eruption of the Indonesian volcano] Krakatau in 1883, Michael Poland, geophysicist with the
U.S. Geological Survey, via NPR.
Three days after the Tonga event,
the nation remains mostly cut off from
the world and much-needed assistance. .
According to NPR, undersea communications appear to have been knocked out, and the airport remains covered in ash, preventing relief flights. .
The government of Tonga has reported extensive
damage on outlying islands, including the Mango island,
where all homes have seemingly been destroyed. .
The USGS said that despite its explosive force,
the eruption itself was relatively small
and short-lived, lasting less than 60 minutes. .
According to USGS scientist Michael Poland,
the question now is how did such a relatively small eruption
cause such a large explosion and subsequent tsunami?