Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano – information about the eruption
As of today, information we have access to indicates that the volcano is not currently erupting, and we have not detected further tsunami activity. Volcanologists are still building a picture of what happened during this globally significant eruption.
About the eruption
A very large, explosive eruption occurred at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga on 15 January 2022. The eruption was very energetic, generating a tall eruption cloud, explosions, shockwaves, audible booming and it created tsunami waves that travelled around the Pacific.
The huge eruption was the largest in the current eruptive episode at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai that spans back to 2009. Back then, all you could see of the volcano was two small, elongated islands poking about 100 metres out of the ocean. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano is located 65 kilometres north of Tonga’s capital Nuku‘alofa
During 2014 and 2015 eruptions, a cone built at the volcano, bridging the gap between these two smaller islands to create one larger island.
An earlier eruption on Friday 14 January destroyed this central cone, flooding the vent with seawater. This added to the instability of the volcano, and the addition of large amounts of water may have contributed to the Saturday 15 January eruption being more explosive. The eruption exploded through the ocean, triggering a tsunami, with waves that headed for coastlines right around the Pacific Ocean. All that remains now of the volcano above water are two much smaller islands again.