The Hunga TongaHunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga on January 15th produced a large and destructive tsunami through a new volcanic eruption. This tsunami occurred due to partial edifice collapse, which destroyed the vast majority of the existing island. Instead of a once 4 kilometer or 2.4 mile wide island, there are now only two small barrier islands. During the peak of this eruption, more than 200,000 lightning strikes occurred within the eruption column. What had just occurred was likely the most powerful volcanic eruption in a decade. This video will separate fact from fiction, and discuss the eruption, what its true magnitude is, and what might happen next at Hunga Tonga. It is a very famous volcano as it has produced several spectacular island forming eruptions in the 21st century.

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Volcanic ash advisory center:
http://vaac.metservice.com/
For information on potential ash advisories of this volcano, select the Wellington center.

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0:00 Hunga Tonga Erupts
0:28 A Destroyed Island
0:53 200,000 lightning strikes
1:33 Pressure Wave
1:50 Will the eruption affect the climate?
2:28 Eruption Plume Height
3:03 Damaged Cables
3:23 An eruption report
Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google & Data Providers

Satellite Video/Photo Credit: NOAA, NASA, GOES WEST 17, Public Domain & Japan Meteorological Agency, CC BY 4.0

Thumbnail Photo Credit: NOAA, Colorized with Hotspot.ai commercial credits

CC BY 4.0 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...