TOKYO: The Japan Meteorological Agency plans to make improvements so as to be ready to issue tsunami warnings quickly in case of an undersea volcanic eruption, Naoyuki Hasegawa, director-general of the agency, has told a press conference.

The agency chief admitted Wednesday that it took too much time to issue a tsunami warning in Japan after Saturday’s huge undersea volcanic eruption near Tonga in the southern Pacific.

The agency plans to set up a panel of experts shortly to discuss ways to improve the country’s tsunami warning system, in addition to analyzing how air pressure changes caused major rises in tide levels in Japan, Hasegawa said.

The eruption occurred around 1:10 p.m. Saturday Japan time, causing tsunamis in nearby areas.

Shortly past 7 p.m. the same day, the agency said that Japan was unlikely to receive any tsunami damage due to the eruption, while there might be small changes in sea levels on the Pacific side of the country.

But tide levels started to rise in Japan from around 8 p.m., two-and-a-half hours earlier than the agency had expected, and sudden air pressure changes were observed.

Since no major tsunamis had been observed between Japan and Tonga, it took time for the agency to determine whether the phenomenon was a tsunami, Hasegawa said. The agency eventually decided to handle the situation as is the case with tsunamis and issued the tsunami warning at 12:15 a.m. Sunday.

He added that once a tidal level high enough for the issuance of a tsunami advisory is observed, the agency plans to convey that information to the public as quickly as possible.

Also, Hasegawa said the agency will monitor the latest disaster’s possible impact on the climate. An eruption of the Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo in 1991 caused a cold summer in Japan, making rice crops in the country very poor. 

JIJI Press