The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano set new benchmarks for volcanic phenomena and efforts are under way to identify other submarine volcanoes around the world that could pose similar threats.
Workers for the Tonga Geological Services look at the smoke poring from the eruption site.
(Tonga Geological Services/Government of Tonga)
In 1983, a Canadian group helped rebuild traditional cooking houses in Tonga in the aftermath of a devastating cyclone. The Tonga Kitchens project offers lessons for Canadian aid today.
As Fiji did after 2016’s catastrophic cyclone, Tonga will likely face challenges with building materials and costs, and low levels of technical expertise. But these can be overcome.
Tsunamis can be generated by underwater volcanic explosions thousands of miles away. The Jan. 15 explosion in Tonga resulted in tsunami advisories for British Columbia and all along the U.S. west coast.
A submarine eruption 34 nautical miles off the coast of Tonga’s capital, Nuku'alofa. March 18 2009.
EPA/Lothar Slabon
Tsunamis aren’t just bigger-than-average waves. Triggered by undersea earthquakes or volcanic eruptions like the one in Tonga, they are fast, massive and potentially destructive. Here’s why.
Satellite image of the Tonga explosion.
TONGA METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES/EPA