Shock waves around the world caused by a massive underwater volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean

Shock waves around the world caused by a massive underwater volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean

The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor.

Satellite imagery showed long, noisy eruptions of smoke and ash from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Hapai volcano.

The eruption caused thunderstorms 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) across Alaska.

The U.S. Geological Survey said Saturday's eruption was the equivalent of a magnitude 5.8 earthquake.

But the full extent of the damage in Tonga became unclear as communication lines narrowed.

A 1.2-meter (four-foot) wave washed up on the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa, and locals reported flooding houses, some structural damage and small rocks and ash falling from the sky as they fled to higher ground.

New Zealand scientist Marco Brenna, a senior lecturer at the University of Otago's School of Geology, described the impact of the eruption as "relatively mild" but said another eruption with a larger impact could not be ruled out.

The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. The Japan Meteorological Agency said warning waves could reach up to three meters.

In New Zealand, more than 2,300 kilometers from Tonga, 120 people were evacuated from the northern coast and several boats were wrecked when a large wave crashed into the marina.

The popular boundy Beach on Sydney, Australia, was removed and the coastal streets of Santa Cruz in California.

The Alaska National Weather Service reports that the Alaska Volcano Observatory has erupted "6,000 miles from the volcano" in Anchorage and Firebanks.

The Fife Meteorological Center in Scotland said in a Twitter message that it was "unbelievable to think of the force that could send a shock wave around the world" after the explosions caused a jump in its air pressure chart.

Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai, located about 65 km north of Nuku'alofa, has a history of instability.

In recent years, it broke sea level in the 2009 eruption, and in 2015 it threw large amounts of large rocks and ash into the air, forming a new island two kilometers long, 100 kilometers wide and 100 meters high.