pacific nation Tonga A tsunami warning was issued on Saturday after an underwater volcano erupted.
Videos posted on social media showed large waves washing ashore in coastal areas.
Tonga Meteorological Services said a tsunami warning has been issued for the whole of Tonga.
Saturday’s eruption was the latest in a series of spectacular eruptions from the Hunga Tonga Hunga Haapai volcano.
A Twitter user identified as Dr. Fakaylotonga Toumoflau posted a video showing the waves crashing on the shore.
“Can literally hear the eruption of the volcano, sounds very violent,” he wrote in a later post, “rain ash and small pebbles, the sky is darkening.”
Earlier, the Matangi Tonga news site reported that scientists had observed massive eruptions, thunder and lightning near the volcano when it began to erupt early Friday.
Satellite images show a 3-mile-wide plume of ash, steam and gas rising into the air for about 12 miles, the site said.
more than 1,400 miles away in New Zealand, officials were warning of a storm surge from the explosion.
The National Emergency Management Agency said parts of New Zealand can expect “strong and unusual currents and unexpected surges along the coast following a large volcanic eruption”.