Tonga sits at the junction of two major tectonic plates, the Pacific and Indo-Australian.
The Pacific Plate is pushed west and sinks back into the mantle along a 'subduction zone’ as it reaches the Indo-Australian Plate and the smaller Tonga Plate reut.rs/3fEu9SU
An underwater volcano off Tonga erupted on Jan. 15, triggering tsunami warnings and evacuation orders in Japan and causing large waves in several South Pacific islands, where footage on social media showed waves crashing into coastal homes
Satellite images from Planet Labs on Jan. 7 showed volcanic gas escaping through the vent. On Jan. 15, about two hours before it erupted, the vent was predominantly underwater.
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai lies about 65 km (40 miles) north of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga
Scientists said the volcano had been puffing away for about a month before rising magma, superheated to around 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 Fahrenheit), met with 20 degree (68 Fahrenheit) seawater on Saturday, causing an instantaneous and massive explosion
The eruption was so powerful that space satellites captured not only huge clouds of ash but also an atmospheric shockwave that radiated out from the volcano at close to the speed of sound reut.rs/3qInrkQ
The Red Cross said its teams in Tonga confirmed that salt water from the tsunami and volcanic ash were polluting the drinking water of thousands.
New Zealand navy vessels will arrive on the Pacific island nation on Friday carrying critical water supplies reut.rs/3qIcvEc
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