The Latest Breaking News from Tonga

As the massive undersea Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Saturday, Tongans from around the world gazed on as their relatives livestreamed images of the billowing clouds of ash, gas and steam emerged from beneath the depths

A Tongan journalist describes the deafening explosion of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano and people fleeing inland to escape the tsunami that followed in its wake.

The first humanitarian flights departed for Tonga early Thursday, carrying much-needed aid supplies to the volcano and tsunami-devastated Pacific island nation. "A C17 Globemaster left from Amberley Airport Base around 7 am today (2000 GMT)," an Australian defense official told AFP.

A Tongan man washed away by a tsunami managed to stay afloat for 24 hours before swimming to safety, it has emerged.

A 57-year-old Tongan man who said he swam around 27 hours after getting swept out to sea during Saturday’s devastating tsunami has been hailed a 'real life Aquaman'.

Lisala Folau climbed a tree on his home island before being washed away and eventually managing to reach the capital

Aircraft arrives five days after volcano eruption and tsunami, after workers managed to clean up ash from the runway

First aid supplies have arrived in Tonga amid fears over contaminated water sources after volcano eruption

The ash cloud is expected to clear over the next few days. Authorities say it does not pose a health risk to the people of the Pilbara.

When Tonga's Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano violently erupted, sending shockwaves and tsunami across the Pacific, the blast in the small island nation was so deafening that fleeing families could only wave at their loved ones to run.

(Refiles to correct link to graphic in sixth paragraph)