In Tonga, home to some 105,000 people, videos posted on social media showed large waves rolling around homes, a church and other buildings in coastal areas. Satellite images showed a massive explosion, with a plume of ash, steam and gas appearing like a mushroom over blue Pacific waters.
Officials in the nearby island nations of Fiji and Samoa also issued warnings, asking people to avoid shorelines due to strong currents and dangerous waves. In New Zealand, officials warned of a possible storm surge from the eruption.
New Zealand’s private forecaster, Weather Watch, tweeted that people as far away as Southland, the country’s southernmost region, heard a sonic boom from the explosion. Others reported that several boats were damaged by the tsunami that struck a marina in Whangarei in the Northland region.
Earlier, the Matangi Tonga news site reported that scientists saw massive eruptions, thunder and lightning after the volcano erupted on Friday. The satellite image shows a 5 km wide plume rising in the air for about 20 km.
Hunga Tonga Hunga Haapai Volcano is about 64 km north of the capital Nuku’alofa. In late 2014 and early 2015, a series of eruptions in the area created a small new island and disrupted international air travel to the Pacific Islands for several days.
Tonga Meteorological Services said a tsunami warning had been declared for all of the archipelago, and data from the Pacific Tsunami Center said waves of 80 cm (2.7 ft) had been detected.
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