Tonga Volcanic Eruption and Tsunami

Question 1

Causes

Answer 1

• Tonga is on the Pacific Ring of Fire
• Destructive plate boundary (Pacific Plate subducting under the Indo-Ausatralian Plate)
• Most powerful eruption in the 21st century

Question 2

Effects

Answer 2

• Island covered in thick ash
• Tsunami spread across Pacific Ocean
• Shock waves felt around the world
• Several deaths with 2 drowned in tsunami
• Very little land left
• Many young people with respiratory problems after cleaning up ash
• Fibre-optic cable broken
• World Bank provided Tonga with US$8 million to assist the country’s recovery