南太平洋のトンガ沖で、1月16日、海底火山が大規模噴火しました
On the morning of Jan. 15, there was a massive eruption of an underwater volcano in the waters off Tonga, producing a plume over 16,000 meters high.
Experts described shock waves from the eruption as a "once-in-a-century" event.
※plume=大きくて派手な羽 （小さい羽根はfeather）→（文語）（煙、雪煙、水柱などが）羽毛状に空中に上がったもの、噴煙 ・煙柱 pillar of smoke
2000キロ以上離れたニュージーランドでも爆音が聞こえ、日本やアメリカにも津波警報が発令され、日本の港にも影響がありました。
The eruption was so loud it could be heard in New Zealand, some 2,383km from Tonga.
It triggered tsunami warnings in several countries, including Japan and the US.
Photo taken Jan. 16, 2022, from a Kyodo News helicopter shows capsized and partially submerged boats at the port of Muroto in Kochi Prefecture.
※capsize 転覆する、させる
※submerge 浸水させる
トンガ王国（Kingdom of Tonga）南太平洋に浮かぶ大半が無人島の170余りの島々から成る、立憲君主国です。
Tonga is a nation of about 170 islands, of which 36 are inhabited with population of about 107,000.
Tonga is a constitutional monarchy.（立憲君主制）It is the only remaining indigenous monarchy in the Pacific islands.
※constitutional monarchy立憲君主制（政府）
憲法の規定内で君主が国家元首となる政治形態。憲法の規制を受けない絶対君主制(absolute monarchy)と異なる
Tonga has enjoyed stability and relative prosperity for many decades with its citizens having high rates of adult literacy and longevity.（識字率と長寿）
トゥポウ6世の戴冠式（2015）には当時の皇太子・同妃両殿下がご出席されていました。
Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako attended the official coronation ceremony for King Tupou and Queen Nanasipau on July 4, 2015.
※coronation戴冠、即位
噴火直後は、低地から逃げる人々で渋滞する様子がSNSにあがり、その後通信が途絶えたと言います。
As the sky darkened with ash, videos showed traffic jams as people fled low-lying areas by car.
Hours later, Tonga's internet and phone lines went down, making the island's 105,000 residents almost entirely unreachable.
Videos shared on social media after the eruption showed people running for higher ground.
※low-lying 土地が低い、低地の
※higher ground 高台
衛星写真では跡形もなく海に沈んだ島も確認され、灰にまみれた姿は月面の様だという報道もありました。
Satellite images suggest some outlying islands （離島）have been completely submerged by seawater.
※outlying 中心、主要部から離れた、へき地の →remote
Satellite imagery appeared to show Tonga’s uninhabited Nuku and Tau islands completely eroded.
The eruption "obliterated" a volcanic island north of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa, the agency said.
※obliterate=痕跡な度を拭い去る、跡形もなくする
Photos show entire island communities blanketed by thick volcanic ash and debris.
The island nation looks "like a moonscape" after it was coated in a layer of volcanic ash.
※moonscape ①月面の風景 ②月面のように荒涼とした風景、不毛地帯
降灰と津波で全人口（約10万人）の84％が被災しました。死者数は3名で、動物保護をしていた英国女性が含まれています。
Tonga says more than four-fifths of the population has been affected by the tsunami and falling ash.
At least three people were killed, including a British woman living in Tonga who ran an animal rescue center and who was swept away by waves that reached up to 50 feet on parts of the islands.
米航空宇宙局（NASA）は、今回の海底火山の噴火で放出されたエネルギーは、広島に投下された原爆の数百倍に上ったと発表しました。
The eruption this month of an underwater volcano near Tonga was hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, according to NASA.
滑走路からも灰が取り除かれ、人道的支援が加速していますが、人々の心の影響も心配されます。
Humanitarian aid to Tonga is ramping up after the airport was cleared of ash, making it safe for planes to land.
Tonga struggles to deal with ash and the psychological fallout of last week's volcanic eruption and tsunami.
