Undersea volcanic eruption caused tsunami, severe damage in Tonga

A massive volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered tsunami waves around the Pacific caused "significant damage" to the island nation's capital and smothered it in dust, but the full extent was not apparent with communications still cut off on Sunday.

People look at a damaged boat in a marina at Tutukaka, New Zealand, Jan. 16, 2022, after waves from a volcano eruption swept into the marina.

A Planet SkySat image shows the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai two hours before its eruption in Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, Tonga, Jan. 15, 2022.

Coupled with heavy surf and a tsunami advisory for the west coast, large waves crash ashore at Wrights Beach, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, north of Bodega Bay, Calif., following a massive undersea volcanic explosion of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga.

This combination of satellite images taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite operated by Japan Meteorological Agency and released by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), shows an undersea volcano eruption of the Pacific nation of Tonga, Jan. 15, 2022.

An aerial view of an unmanned boat near the mouth of Santa Cruz Harbor that was dragged by currents from effects of high tide and the tsunami caused by the eruption of the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in Tonga, in Santa Cruz, California, U.S. Jan. 15, 2022 in this image taken with a drone and obtained from a social media video.

Tsunami surge floods the area at the top of the Upper Harbor in Santa Cruz, Calif., Jan. 15, 2022.

A damaged boat is partially submerged in a marina at Tutukaka, New Zealand, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, after waves from a volcano eruption swept into the marina.

Dolphins play in the heavy tsunami surf at north Salmon Creek State Beach, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, north of Bodega Bay, Calif.

A dock is torn apart in a marina at Tutukaka, New Zealand, Jan. 16, 2022, after waves from a volcano eruption swept into the marina.

Satellite image provided by the Planet SkySat image shows a plume of smoke rising from the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai days before its eruption, Jan. 15, 2022.

An empty beach is pictured after mass evacuation from the coastline in Chile, following a tsunami preventive advisory generated by local authorities, after an underwater volcano eruption on the island of Tonga, at the South Pacific, La Serena, Chile, Jan. 15, 2022.

A tsunami hazard sign is posted on a light pole near the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, Calif., Jan. 15, 2022.

An aerial photo shows the rafts of farmed oysters carried out to sea due to tsunami in Toba City, Mie Prefecture, the pacific seaboard of Japan, Jan. 16, 2022.

A couple looks at a damaged boat in a marina at Tutukaka, New Zealand, Jan. 16, 2022, after waves from a volcano eruption swept into the marina.

This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite operated by Japan Meteorological Agency and released by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), shows an undersea volcano eruption, right, at the Pacific nation of Tonga, Jan. 15, 2022.