The eruption this month of an underwater volcano near Tonga was hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, according to NASA.
Jim Garvin, chief scientist at , said the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano on January 15 released "hundreds of times the equivalent mechanical energy of the ," referring to one of two atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Japan during World War II.
"This is a preliminary estimate, but we think the amount of energy released by the eruption was equivalent to somewhere between 4 to 18 megatons of TNT," Garvin said on NASA's Earth Observatory website.
In comparison, scientists estimate the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption released 24 megatons of energy, and Krakatoa -- one of the biggest volcanic events in history -- erupted in 1883 with 200 megatons, according to NASA.
The eruption near Tonga sent volcanic material surging as high as 40 kilometres (25 miles) into the atmosphere and generated tsunami waves up to 49 feet (15 metres) high that hit parts of the archipelago including the Pacific nation's main island.
A volcanic cloud extended to cover all of the country's roughly 170 islands, according to Tonga's Prime Minister, impacting the entire population of more than 100,000 people.
Garvin and a team of international researchers evaluated changes in land mass of the volcano since 2015, when an eruption connected two pre-existing islands, Hunga Ha'apai and Hunga Tonga, into one land mass.
Following the eruption this month, all of the new land has gone along with "large chunks" of the two pre-existing islands, the researchers said.
The eruption and tsunami killed at least three people, destroyed hundreds of homes and left remote islands cut off from the world with no communications. Photos show entire island communities blanketed by thick volcanic ash and debris.
Aid agencies and Tongan politicians warned of potential food shortages after crops were ruined by the ash as rescue workers raced to deliver safe drinking water to the islands.
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A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
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The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
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The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
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The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
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A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
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Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.
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The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
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The St. Clair College golf teams were successful at the Niagara Knights Invitational tournament on Friday.
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The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
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Despite the heavy rain, plenty of muscle turned up for United Way’s annual Pull the Bus fundraiser in Lethbridge Friday.
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