Mount Tongariro erupts in New Zealand - in pictures

Ash covering the ground in Turangi. Mount Tongariro, one of three volcanic peaks in the central North Island, erupted late on Monday night Photograph: New Zealand Police /EPA

Damage to a Department of Conservation hut in Turangi Photograph: New Zealand Police/EPA

A man holds a handful of volcanic ash that fell on a property in Rangipo near the base of Mount Tongariro Photograph: Alan Gibson/AP

State highway one under a cloud of ash Photograph: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images

Volcanic ash covers a tree as a farmer feeds her horses at Rangipo Photograph: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images

Ash covers houses and farmland in this still image taken from video. Ash spewed from the Te Maari craters on the northern side of the mountain Photograph: Reuters TV

A man sweeps ash from a car in Rangipo Photograph: Alan Gibson/AP

Ash covering the ground in Turangi Photograph: New Zealand Police/EPA

A truck kicks up a plume of volcanic ash Photograph: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images

Ash covers houses in the path of the volcano Photograph: Reuters TV