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.
the new zealand prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and significant clean up will be needed. one of the islands is covered in the thick film of volcanic dust, but otherwise conditions are calm and stable. the volcano has been active since mid december. but saturday s huge eruption took experts by surprise. i would expect the activity to continue for a while yet. i m not necessarily expecting it to get any bigger, but it could conceivably continue on at a similar scale. the eruption sent a tsunami wave right across the pacific ocean. in new zealand, the tsunami caused serious damage, smashing boats against each other and causing some to sink. but tonight, the main concern remains tonga. until the ash cloud clears and new zealand and australia can begin sending military flights,
neighbors. all right, polo sandoval, thanks so much. thanks, polo. listen, we re forming breaking news, tsunami advisory for the wet coast after a massive volcano eruption in tonga. the area is now under advisory, what you know about it. and the u.s. is saying it has information that russia is preparing a false attack for ukraine. we ll tell you how putin is responding to that, next. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. this is a warrior. midnight to morning, she s in command. all-day comfort. all-night shift. head nurse. heart on her sleeve. so, when leaks show up, our protection helps keep them dry. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you.™ (vo) subaru and our retailers volunteer and support charities all year long.
we begin with breaking news at this hour. the western u.s. coast is under a tsunami advisory as the national tsunami warning center says they re watching a one to two foot wave heading towards the area. it comes after a tsunami hit tonga s largest island reportedly sending waves into the capital of the island. it happened after an underwater volcano in the south pacific exploded in a violent eruption. we want to show you the satellite of that. this is the imagery of the eruption on that massive ash cloud and shock wave spreading from it, something that caught cnn s allison chinchar s eye. she s here to talk with us about this. explain to us what the threat is at this moment. right. yeah. basically up and down the west coast, you ve got a tsunami advisory. one to two feet waves. that s what we re talking about for the forecast. the timing ranges from 7:30 a.m. pacific time all the way to 10:00 a.m. again, a wide coast, depends on
at six back to the office and no masks in classrooms, as england s covid measures ease. it s the first stage of the government s move to drop plan b measures completely at the end of next week. but with daily infections still running high, there s concern it ll put the nhs under even more pressure. also on the programme tonight. the prime minister says he has no evidence of black black male in his party. i see no evidence, heard no evidence to support any of those allegations. military drills for ukraine s soliders as the united states warns russia of grave consequences if any of its troops massed on the border cross into ukraine. the aftermath of the tsunami that hit tonga aid planes finally arrive in the south pacific bringing much needed supplies. and how blisters put pay