The government said the eruption triggered a tsunami in Tonga 'rising up to 15 metres' which slammed ashore on the west coast of several islands.
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Tsunami in Tonga
A grab taken from the NOAA GOES-West satellite and obtained via NASA shows the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Haa'pai volcano in Tonga that provoked a tsunami.
Tongans raced Wednesday to clear a thick coat of ash from the main international runway to let in emergency aid, as the island nation faced a month of crippled international communications following a violent volcanic eruption and tsunami.
(Photograph:AFP)
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Devastation in Tonga
A combination of photos from a satellite shows the town of Kanokupolu on Tongatapu island, the main island of Tonga on December 8, 2021 and then the same area covered in ash on January 17, 2022, two days after the eruption of nearby Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano which devastated many of the nearby islands and caused a tsunami across the Pacific Ocean.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted 30 kilometres into the air on Saturday sending ash, gas and acid rain across a large area of the Pacific.
It released an enormous pressure wave that traversed the planet, travelling at supersonic speed at about 1,231 kilometres per hour, New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said.
(Photograph:AFP)
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Tsunami and then volcano in Tonga
Satellite picture of Nomuka island in Tonga on December 18, 2021 and the same area covered in ash on January 17, 2022, two days after the eruption of nearby Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano.
In the tsunami that followed, waves in Tonga rose up to 15 metres (50 feet) in some areas, the small Pacific island nation's government said in a statement.
Three people were killed and "a number" were injured, the Tongan government said, calling the volcano explosion "an unprecedented disaster."
The ashfall and tsunami-affected more than 100,000 people, virtually the entire Tongan population, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said in an update, quoting the Tonga Red Cross Society.
(Photograph:AFP)
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Satellite picture of pre-eruption
Satellite picture shows the pre-eruption on the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano.
Australia and New Zealand have military transport C-130 aircraft ready to fly when ash has been removed from the main island.
Ash particles pose a threat to modern jet aircraft, including by melting and accumulating in the engines.
A thicker-than-expected blanket of five to 10 centimetres of ash had accumulated on the main island Tongatapu's runway, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. It expected the runway to be clear soon.
(Photograph:AFP)
Port facilities hit by tsunami
A satellite image shows the main port facilities after the main eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano.
Australia's helicopter landing vessel HMAS Adelaide is expected to soon set sail for Tonga with disaster relief supplies, a voyage of some five days.
New Zealand's HMNZS Wellington, equipped with survey and diving teams, and HMNZS Aotearoa with bulk water supplies and a 70,000-litre a day onboard desalination plant, departed on a trip of some three days Tuesday.
Tonga has been virtually cut off from the outside world since the volcanic blast broke an undersea communications cable, which may remain severed for weeks.
(Photograph:AFP)
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Mu'a in Hahake district on Tongatapu island
Satellite image shows the town of Mu'a in the Hahake district on Tongatapu island, the main island of Tonga on December 18 and the same area covered in ash on January 17, 2022, two days after the eruption.
Mobile phone network provider Digicel is using a local satellite dish on the main island to quickly restore domestic 2G calls, New Zealand's high commission said in a statement.
The outside world has been relying on patchy satellite phone connections, surveillance flights and satellite images to measure the full scale of the disaster.
Tonga's government said the tsunami completely wiped out one village while only a few houses remained standing in several other settlements scattered across the archipelago.
(Photograph:AFP)
Tonga volcano
View of tsunami damage after the Pacific island nation was hit after a massive undersea volcanic eruption in Nuku port, Tongatapu Island, Tonga.
This reconnaissance photo was taken from a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft surveillance flight.
The village on Mango island, where a distress beacon was detected earlier in the week, was completely destroyed while only a few houses remained standing in several other villages scattered through the archipelago.
(Photograph:AFP)
Heavy ash in Nomuka in Tonga
A general view from a New Zealand defence force P-3K2 Orion surveillance flight shows heavy ash fall over Nomuka in Tonga after the Pacific island nation was hit by a tsunami triggered by an undersea volcanic eruption.
A 65-year-old woman in Mango was one of three people confirmed dead along with a 49-year-old man and British national Angela Glover.
Multiple injuries were also reported, the government said.
Tongan navy vessels carrying health workers and laden with urgent supplies of water, food and tents were being deployed.