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The eruption of Hunga Tonga was among the most spectacular displays caught by a weather satellite

By Matthew Cappucci Washington Post

On Jan. 15, a powerful eruption of an underwater volcano near the Tonga islands in the Pacific Ocean triggered tsunami waves around the world. (The Washington Post)

The Hunga Tonga volcano in the southwest Pacific erupted explosively on Saturday evening local time, producing a tsunami, sending ash 100,000 feet high and generating an atmospheric shock wave that rippled around the globe. The eruption was heard in Alaska, about 5,000 miles away, while an area the size of New England was blanketed by the ashen smoke plume.

Underwater Pacific volcano sends tsunami waves to Tonga, cutting off contact with outer islands

The volcano is about 40 miles north of Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu, near the international dateline. Tonga, home to 105,000 people, can be found northeast of New Zealand and southeast of Fiji.

Distress signal detected on Tonga islands after the volcanic eruption

“We have a nightmare situation of an isolated community experiencing the effects of a large volcanic ash plume producing significant volcanic lightning, as well as a tsunami,” Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, wrote in a Twitter direct message. “Seeing that ash plume, that volcanic lightning, and that tsunami leave me feeling sick thinking about the people being impacted by this large eruption.”

In Volcano’s Aftermath, an Agonizing Wait for Tonga News

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