Aftermath photos show devastation in Tonga islands

The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano on January 15, which sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean and was heard some 2,300 kilometers (1,430 miles) away in New Zealand.

Photographs from Nomuka on Monday (January 17) and Tuesday (January 18) showed ash coating toppled building structures, and interiors of buildings ridden with debris and damage. In Tungua, boats and classrooms were captured to have weathered damage from the aftermath as well.

The eruption was so powerful that space satellites captured not only huge clouds of ash but also an atmospheric shockwave that radiated out from the volcano at close to the speed of sound.