[Rockhounds] Something Weird Happened 15 Minutes Before the Giant Tonga Eruption of 2022

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Two years ago, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano blew its top,
destroying the island of the same name, forcing mass evacuations
<https://gizmodo.com/tonga-is-covered-in-ash-and-in-crisis-after-massive-vol-1848376335>
, covering Tonga in ash
<https://gizmodo.com/tonga-eruption-was-so-powerful-scientists-propose-new-1848410774>,
and causing several deaths. Predicting these sorts of natural disasters are
exceedingly difficult, but a surprising new finding suggests some volcanoes
give off a clue in the minutes preceding a cataclysmic eruption.

According to a team of researchers that reviewed some overlooked data from
that data, the huge volcanic eruption that rocked the Pacific Ocean in 2022
was preceded by a seismic wave that shot across Earth’s surface. The data
was collected by faraway seismometers, but the recent team posits that even
those distant signals can help people prepare for future surprise eruptions.

Early warning systems
<https://gizmodo.com/japan-just-issued-its-first-megaquake-alert-heres-what-you-should-know-2000485175>
for
natural disasters—earthquakes, eruptions and tsunamis
<https://gizmodo.com/magnetic-fields-could-be-early-warning-that-a-tsunami-i-1848265914>,
as well as more predictable events like hurricanes, tornadoes, and
typhoons—save lives. Any amount of notice is better than none, as even
critical minutes of warning can make the difference between life and death.

“Early warnings are very important for disaster mitigation,” said study
co-author Mie Ichihara, a volcanologist at the University of Tokyo, in an
American Geophysical Union release
<https://news.agu.org/press-release/new-trigger-tonga-eruption/>. “Island
volcanoes can generate tsunamis, which are a significant hazard.”

https://gizmodo.com/something-weird-happened-15-minutes-before-the-giant-tonga-eruption-of-2022-2000520310