Tonga is a 170 island archipelago between Australia and Tahiti and a part of the Pacific ‘ring of fire’. Tonga and these cluster of islands is an earthquake and volcanic zone stretching between Chile in South America and all the way to Alaska and passes through Vanuatu to Tonga. 

The southwest coast of the Tongatapu island witnessed clouds of smoke, steam and ash thousands of feet into the sky. This area has an approximately 36 undersea volcanoes. The volcanic eruption was very significant in terms of its scale. Since the eruption took place 6 miles off the shore of the islands, there are no evident signs of danger to the residents. Moreover, the trade winds are doing a fine job of blowing the poisonous gases and ashes away from the island. 

After a series of earthquake on Monday, the eruption took place. The columns rising into the sky was a spectacular sight. However, it is not unusual in this part of the world. Similar eruption has taken place in 2002 as well. Large amount of pumice have clogged the beaches in the islands near Fiji islands.