The eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, an undersea volcano, and a tsunami wave saw volcanic ash blanketing the country’s islands, posing a serious health risk and contaminating water supplies.
At least three people have died and communications have been crippled, and Tonga has only just begun to re-establish global contact after five days cut off from the rest of the world.
Speaking from Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa, journalist Marian Kupu gives a firsthand account of the moment the volcano erupted.
