10 September 2026

Seismic data pinpoint the collapse of an underwater volcano, and reveal how the eruption triggered a destructive tsunami.

Buildings on Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga, were damaged after the eruption of the underwater Hunga volcano in 2022 triggered a series of tsunamis. Credit: Mary Lyn Fonua/Matangi Tonga/AFP/Getty

A powerful volcanic eruption in the South Pacific Ocean has revealed a way to detect a tsunami unleashed by such an event1.

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