Australia is being swamped by a HUGE ash cloud from volcanic eruption that caused a devastating tsunami in Tonga – and incredible sunrises in Queensland
- ‘Beautiful’ sunrises seen across Queensland on Monday after Tonga eruption
- Ash clouds have been making their way westward from the Pacific island
- Eastern and central Queensland and potentially Northern Territory impacted
Huge ash clouds from the ‘once in a thousand’ year volcanic eruption in Tonga have filled the skies over Queensland leading to beautiful sunrises.
Sunshine State residents awoke to picturesque views on Monday after the massive eruption near the Pacific island on Sunday.
Ash clouds have slowly travelled west toward the Coral Sea and passed over Fiji, Vanuatu and Nouvelle-Caledonie, leaving rustic coloured skies in their wake.
The clouds are expected to hover over central and eastern Queensland and potentially reach as far as the Northern Territory before finally clearing on Tuesday.
Weatherzone meteorologist Con Hough told Daily Mail Australia the sunsets and sunrises would become more noticeably saturated in orange and yellow.
Huge ash clouds from the ‘once in a thousand’ year volcanic eruption in Tonga have swamped the skies over Queensland leading to ‘beautiful’ sunrises (pictured, sunset in Bondi on Monday)
A tsunami struck Tonga sending terrified locals fleeing for high ground as huge waves crashed over roads and into homes (pictured, tsunami waves begin to overwhelm coastal homes in Tonga on Saturday)
Sunshine State residents awoke to picturesque views of the sun rising on Monday following the massive eruption near the Pacific island on Sunday
‘There is still some ash offshore, fairly sizeable ash cloud over the ocean, still tracking towards Queensland,’ he said.
‘It could result in some good sunsets in parts of Queensland and through tomorrow as well.’
The Queensland Government has not issued any warnings of a change to air quality.
Australia and New Zealand dispatched surveillance flights on Monday to assess the damage in Tonga, isolated from the rest of the world due to the eruption of an underwater volcano that triggered a tsunami and blanketed the Pacific island with ash.
Prime minister Scott Morrison pledged to provide support for Tonga as early as possible, but said the volcano ash hampered relief efforts.
‘There’s been a lot of challenges there with the ash cloud and the disruption to communications and so we are working together to get as much support to Tonga as we possibly can,’ Morrison told 2GB radio on Monday.
Australia’s Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja said initial reports suggested no mass casualties and the airport ‘appears to be in relatively good condition’ but there was ‘significant damage’ to roads and bridges.
Part of the devastation the tsunamis have caused in Tonga pictured from the deck of a fishing boat (pictured)
Locals took to social media to share dramatic videos of the surging waves making land and crashing through homes and cars (pictured, still images from video filmed in Tonga and posted to social media on Saturday)
Seselja said Australia was liaising with the US, New Zealand, France and other countries to coordinate responses.
An underwater volcano off Tonga erupted on Saturday, triggering a tsunami on the shores of Tonga and cutting off phone and internet lines for the entire island.
There are no official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga as yet but communications are still limited and outlying costal areas remain cut off.
Satellite images show some of the outlying islands are submerged in water.