of an underwater volcano erupting in the south pacific — which appears to have covered much of the island nation in a layer of ash. the tsunami triggered by the eruption caused flooding on parts of the us west coast and japan. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. from high up in space, weather satellites caught the moment the huge underwater volcano let loose, sending a cloud of ash and rock 20 kilometres high and at least 500 kilometres wide. that is an ash cloud that could stretch from london to edinburgh. somewhere beneath it, is the tiny island kingdom of tonga. the first thing to hit the island was the shock wave. then came the rushing waters of the tsunami, smashing into sea walls and flooding what here appears to be a church. next, day turns to night as the ash began to form. these pictures are from saturday afternoon as people were trying to flee from the coast.