Tonga volcano eruption triggers evacuation advisories, metre-high waves in Japan (updated)
16/01/2022 04:19
(Adds lifting of tsunami warning in paragraph 5)
TOKYO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Japanese
citizens were advised to evacuate on Sunday as waves of more
than a metre hit coastal areas, public broadcaster NHK reported,
after the eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga triggered
tsunami warnings.
Around 230,000 people were advised to evacuate across eight
prefectures due to the tsunami risk, NHK reported. The alert
included areas hit by the deadly 2011 tsunami.
Ten boats were capsized in Kochi prefecture on Shikoku
island in southern Japan, NHK said, and Japan Airlines 9201.T
cancelled 27 flights at airports across the country.
The overnight disruption is causing delays to rail and
postal services in some areas, Kyodo News reported, with some
residents passing a cold night after evacuating to higher
ground.
A red tsunami warning - the second-highest in Japan's
domestic scale - for Iwate prefecture in northern Japan was
lifted late morning, NHK reported, although a less severe yellow
tsunami advisory remains in place along Japan's eastern coast,
with authorities continuing to urge caution.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Tom Hogue and Kenneth
Maxwell)
((sam.nussey@tr.com; https://twitter.com/SamNusseyRTRS;
+81345632760;))