Tsunami warning for US West Coast, flooding in Hawaii

SAN FRANCISCO: Tsunami warnings were issued on Saturday for the entire US West Coast after a massive volcanic eruption across the Pacific Ocean in Tonga, with tsunami waves triggering low-level flooding in Hawaii.

The US National Weather Service issued tsunami advisories from the bottom of California to the tip of Alaska’s Aleutian islands, predicting waves of up to two feet (60 centimetres), strong rip currents and coastal flooding.

"Move off the beach and out of harbors and marinas in these areas," it advised.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said "a tsunami is currently being observed" in Hawaii, but said there was "no reported damage and only minor flooding throughout the islands."

Frightened Tongans fled to higher ground as the eruption triggered a tsunami in the island nation, with a four-foot wave observed in Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa.

Similar warnings were issued by nations throughout the Pacific, including New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and Australia as well as for coastal Chile.

The latest eruption of Tonga’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano lasted at least eight minutes and sent plumes of gas, ash and smoke several kilometres into the air.

It came just a few hours after a separate Friday tsunami warning was lifted due to a previous eruption.The eruption was so intense it was heard as "loud thunder sounds" in Fiji more than 800 kilometres away, officials in Suva said.Fijian officials warned residents to cover water collection tanks in case of acidic rain fall.

Victorina Kioa of the Tonga Public Service Commission said Friday that people should "keep away from areas of warning which are low-lying coastal areas, reefs and beaches".

The head of Tonga Geological Services, Taaniela Kula, urged people to stay indoors, wear a mask if they were outside and cover rainwater reservoirs and rainwater harvesting systems.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a "tsunami advisory" for American Samoa, saying there was a threat of "sea level fluctuations and strong ocean currents that could be a hazard along beaches".

Similar warnings were issued by authorities in New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu, Chile and Australia -- where authorities said a swathe of coastline, including Sydney, could be hit by tsunami waves.

People in surrounding New South Wales state were "advised to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water’s edge".

Tsunami warnings were also issued for the entire US West Coast, and waves triggered low-level flooding in Hawaii.

The US National Weather Service issued tsunami advisories from California to Alaska, predicting waves of up to two feet, strong rip currents and coastal flooding.

"Move off the beach and out of harbors and marinas in these areas," it advised.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said "a tsunami is currently being observed" in Hawaii, but said there was "no reported damage and only minor flooding throughout the islands".

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano sits on an uninhabited island about 65 kilometres north of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa.