‘We had to mimic to everyone to run’: how Tonga’s volcano and tsunami disaster unfolded

Tonga is used to natural disasters, but they have never experienced anything like the last week.

"We've experienced tropical cyclones, but this is so new and no one will ever forget this, ever," says Marian Kupu, a journalist for BroadCom Broadcasting FM87.5 in Tonga.

"We didn't know what to do or what to expect."

On Saturday 15 January, at 5:10pm local time, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai undersea volcano erupted in a blast 600 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It could be felt as far as away as New Zealand and Alaska. It prompted a tsunami.

So far, three people have been reported dead in Tonga from the tsunami, while two more drowned in Peru after abnormally big waves from the blast reached as far as the coast of South America.

There had been signs that something was wrong. All summer there had been a stench of sulphur in the air across Tonga, signalling that the undersea volcano, which lies about 65km north-west of the country's capital of Nuku'alofa, was active. There had been small eruptions, and on the Friday, the day before the eruption and tsunami, the water in Nuku'alofa's harbour was spinning in eddies and whirlpools, something no one had seen before.

When the eruption occurred, it was so loud that Kupu's ears were ringing.