Tonga Volcanic Eruption as seen from Tonga 73 Kilometers Away

Rare Video footage of the massive eruption near Nukualofa.
HTHH on the 15th of Tonga explodes surprising the world with massive shock / pressure waves. These pressure waves are heard and felt by all in Tonga. Caught on Camera are the effects of these waves on the clouds and the subsequent development and fall out in the 1st two hours of the Eruption. Ash darkens the sky, small stones fall with ash upon everything. Tonga is left in darkness and disconnected from the rest of the World.

[@riverdelta7052]

Wow this is probably the most comprehensive footage of the eruption from the ground on KZbin

[@SaoGage]

This footage is historically significant in a big way.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. I’ll look forward to seeing what there is and the reports when the internet is restored. I haven’t seen one video on the internet since the Eruption. I’ll have a lot to catch up on. In the meantime I’ll have to be happy with my 1st person narrative 😁

[@MolisiDelmar]

If anyone doing research wants more data points i maybe able to provide more footage With time stamps. In addition to the go pro I had two cameras I tried to always have one going to catch anything significant.

[@kellwood1404]

@@MolisiDelmar This is the most footage I’ve seen so far and the most interesting. I just saw this footage today, and found a second one (Marcus) with video of a destroyed home on beach. Did you fill up your bathtub with drinking water in time? My uncle lived in Grand Cayman and they did that for hurricanes. How bad were the earthquakes? Do you know magnitude? How many earthquakes since eruption, or first day estimate? Did you need to shovel ash off roofs? I hope all is well with you, your family and friends.

[@jpsholland]

@@SaoGage frankly i have seen a lot better footage and sound, just from people recording with cell phones.

[@mycroft16]

Never seen any footage to equal this. Your timelapse of the pressure waves coming through affecting the clouds is amazing. And hearing those booms. Seeing all the clouds get sucked in as the column rises and pulls all that air with it. This is unique footage. The power of that eruption was staggering, and yet not even close to the big ones. That's kinda scary. Thank you for getting video and sharing this.

[@David-we3sb]

when is timestamp of booms?

[@kevobuddy10]

@@David-we3sb Cant watch a 6 minute video?

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. Yes im glad it wasn't a bigger volcano.

[@I.amthatrealJuan]

You actually have barometric data? Wow, you have this invaluable, unique piece of information that I've been trying to find since. I've been looking for barographs of the shockwave that was recorded in Tonga itself, very close to the source.

[@tylerhanson7771]

that is amazing data to have!

[@MolisiDelmar]

Gracias, fue muy increíble. I was trying to screen record my barometer as it was going up and down but unfortunately didn’t capture the parts I wanted to most. A friend close by will hopefully sent me his video of his barometer. It was very uncomfortable and natural seeing the barometer rise and fall and feeling the sudden movements in my ears. Was pretty intense. Usually I use a barometer for tracking how close a cyclone is as opposed to a pressure wave hahah

[@MolisiDelmar]

Gracias, fue muy increíble. I was trying to screen record my barometer as it was going up and down but unfortunately didn’t capture the parts I wanted to most. A friend close by will hopefully sent me his video of his barometer. It was very uncomfortable and natural seeing the barometer rise and fall and feeling the sudden movements in my ears. Was pretty intense. Usually I use a barometer for tracking how close a cyclone is as opposed to a pressure wave hahah

[@MolisiDelmar]

Gracias, fue muy increíble. I was trying to screen record my barometer as it was going up and down but unfortunately didn’t capture the parts I wanted to most. A friend close by will hopefully sent me his video of his barometer. It was very uncomfortable and natural seeing the barometer rise and fall and feeling the sudden movements in my ears. Was pretty intense. Usually I use a barometer for tracking how close a cyclone is as opposed to a pressure wave jajaja

[@I.amthatrealJuan]

@@MolisiDelmar Thank you for the reply. That data will be of great help to scientists studying this historic event.

[@Mizt_Plays]

The fact that the rocks came down so long after the eruption is crazy. I mean I know particles get blasted really high but the length of time it takes to come back down is wild.

[@HearturMind]

Your calm is admirable. I would have been screaming and hiding under the bed. Thank you for sharing this and I hope all affected by this unimaginably large event are made whole soon.

[@Antonowskyfly]

Thank you for sharing your excellent documenting of this stunning event. Im in central Alberta Canada and I believe I heard the rumble here although, at the time, I didn’t know what it was. To see the pressure wave travel towards the americas in an infrared wavelength from a GOES satellite was/is incredible. Wishing everyone well, my condolences to those who have been negatively affected and again, thank you for the brilliant upload.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you.

[@AtarahDerek]

The shockwave came through at about 5-7 am our time, I think, so unless you're an early riser, you would've missed it.

[@LindaEll89]

@@MolisiDelmar The shockwave was even registered in Europe/ Netherlands. You have awesome footage especially the barometer reacting was crazy. Thank you for sharing. 👋😀🇳🇱

[@heychika112]

Wow amazing stuff! First of all, glad you're okay! Hopefully now that this footage is getting more eyes, it will help answer some questions. It's cool how you're able to notice things like the pressure changing in your ear. Wild stuff, thank you!

[@MolisiDelmar]

Yes thank you I’m okay. Wild stuff alright. The Pressure wasn’t subtle. We were a little on edge for a few days.

[@revelgirl1742]

Holy HELL, that footage & audio is MIND-BLOWING. Insane when everything went dark too. Hope you and yours are well. Seeing those clouds sucked in reminds me of tsunami causes water to recede.... totally NUTS! You should preserve the rights to your video!!!

[@MolisiDelmar]

Yes it had a apocalyptic feel about it hahaha. Was really cool to go back over the footage and see the behaviour of the clouds which I didn’t notice in the moment.

[@mycroft16]

Air and water are both fluids and obey the same physics.

[@kh40yr]

Now you know how it was in 1980 in Wa State, with Mt St Helens. We were standing in church right when it boomed, then rattled the rest of the day. Pops had a 6 man timber cutting crew working about 7-8 miles from the mountain on that day. They dropped their still-running chain saws and ran for the crew bus. They JUST managed to outrun the blast cloud,, and burned up the motor in the crew bus in doing so. Changed our lives for a couple decades. About 4" of ash dumped at this location,,and most of it went east. Mt St Helens rumbled back to life in 2006 for a quickie ash plume. Nice that the barometric pressure stuff is on vid now. Always wondered about those precursor pressure waves. Cool to see the clouds freeze, drop, and pull back. Thanks for the vid Molisi. Have a bug-out survival bag handy,,so you can grab it and bolt out the door.

[@MolisiDelmar]

😮 That was a big one. Amazing history, life can change pretty quickly. 4 inches of ash is a lot. Thank you for your comment. Good idea about the bug out bag - essential really.

[@nickp.2169]

This is some of the most amazing footage I've ever seen. Well done remaining calm and explaining what you were experiencing

[@jonathanwarnes2230]

This is what i spend hours on utube looking for. Amazing. This is the first time video has been captured showing pressure waves effects on low clouds in a volcanic eruption. Well done!! I can play it 10 times over and still love it!!!

[@MolisiDelmar]

Im glad i was able to capture something you like to watch. Its amazing all the different things you can see when you watch it a few times. so much going on.

[@AddFilmmedia]

Thank you so much for sharing this adventure with us. I was in the Phllipines when the Mount Piñatubo erupted in June 1991. Same kind of ash clouds and ash rain. Extremely interesting when you talk about the pressure variations prior to the next shockwave! Well done!✋👍🇸🇪

[@bohemoth1]

I was stationed at Subic Bay Naval Station just before that Volcano erupted. We were ordered to sail away from the Philippines before the eruption.

[@AddFilmmedia]

@@bohemoth1 I think the Subic Bay was still populated by the military during the eruptions. The base was hammered by the monsoon mixed with volcanic ashes, into a muddy slurr. The clouds turned day into night…

[@bohemoth1]

@@AddFilmmedia We were ordered to take our ship out of Subic Bay when CINCPAC saw the first signs of a potential eruption. His order was FORTHWITH DEPART THE PHILIPPINES. I remember it because it was the first time I saw the Navy use the word FORTHWITH instead of ASAP.

[@I.amthatrealJuan]

Pinatubo didn't have shockwaves like this though, right?

[@AddFilmmedia]

@@I.amthatrealJuan Not as far as I know.

[@marleymcleay9228]

Thanks for posting again, yea these pressure waves were loud and clear in New Zealand. cheers, the footage offers a very unique perspective.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. I’m one day looking forward to the sound of touching down back in New Zealand! It’s been more than two years.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. I’m one day looking forward to the sound of touching down back in New Zealand! It’s been more than two years.

[@CTcuber4K]

The fact you can hear it from 73km away is genuinely beyond insane. The loudest thing I've ever heard is an f1 car and you can probably hear those for about 7km. I don't even want to imagine how loud that eruption was.

[@dogdayssewing9402]

I heard it in Cairns, Australia.

[@fallenangel_899]

Know some people that heard it. Wellington, New Zealand

[@gg.1739]

Louder than anything you could imagine. It'd be quieter if a hundred fireworks went off 5 feet from your ears

[@mycroft16]

The shock was AUDIBLE in Alaska and San Francisco. The raw power to generate a Shockwave like that is mind boggling. On satellite footage you can see the visible Shockwave propagating out for several hundred miles. From a bomb you get that for a second or two at most. This thing was crazy. The Shockwave circled the planet 4 times. And this eruption isn't as big as Krakatoa or Tambora or the supervolcano eruptions that have happened. Yellowstone, or the one I can never remember that formed the caldera that is Rotorua New Zealand.

[@numbereightyseven]

​​@@mycroft16Tarawera, near Rotorua. 1886.

[@jkzero]

Thanks Molisi for sharing this valuable material. I am a physicist writing a scientific report on the pressure wave. Do you have a record of the value of the pressure as a function of time? Also, could you share the exact local time for the arrival of the first pressure wave? I would be delighted to acknowledge you in the scientific publication. Many thanks in advance and stay safe.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Greetings. I’ve been looking back over all the footage and putting it in order with time stamps and slowing some of the footage down trying to improve some of the details. Our internet is still compromised until maybe the 20th but I’ll get the info. Muchísimas gracias

[@jkzero]

Thanks @@MolisiDelmar for your reply, I hope for a good recovery of all in need right now over there. I have already made preliminary use of the pressure measurements shown in this video and they fit remarkably with the other results, I hope you are OK with us using these values in a scientific publication (as promised, I will make sure to acknowledge your footage in the paper). I am really looking forward to future footage with time stamps and also the recording the barometer from your friend. Take care.

[@christiansiemes9902]

@@MolisiDelmar Very impressive, thank you for the video! I hope that you are still safe. I am also a scientist, working with precise accelerometer data from satellites. The shockwave was sensed at 500 km altitude, which is record for such events. I would be interested in the pressure time series as well, if possible. I would of course acknowledge you.

[@jkzero]

Hi Molisi, thanks for sharing your data. You can find my study published in the scientific journal Shock Waves here link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00193-022-01092-4; please check the explicit mentions to your video and a mention in the acknowledgements section. There was also a nice pop-sci article about my study here: phys.org/news/2022-08-tonga-volcano-eruption-energy-powerful.html Thanks again and I hope that the recovery is going well.

[@tytoalbasoren9457]

Hunga Tonga's eruption marked the first VEI 6 eruption to ever take place in the 21st century with the new record tallest ash plume height of 57 km. The last time we saw an eruption close to this magnitude was Pinatubo in 1991 but even then it was smaller with the highest ash plume reaching 45 km. This is one for geology's history books boys.

[@carolynallisee2463]

Watching this, I can't help but think that this is something similar to what villagers in Central Java experienced in 1883 when Krakatoa erupted...

[@mycroft16]

Krakatoa was much worse. It was bigger. And the tsunami was much bigger. For as big as this one was, Krakatoa was immense. And Tambora was bigger still.

[@jess500texas]

But this is small compared to this

[@jackhartmann1084]

at 3:28 you can really see that sound (pressure) wave disperse the clouds

[@heathstott]

I heard the shock wave in Queensland Australia about 4 pm, it’s was loud there😳🇦🇺. Great footage👍

[@MolisiDelmar]

Oh wow!

[@Northern867]

Good video,thanks for posting. I live in central Yukon in Canada and heard this . Happened around 7 AM here and went on for 30 minutes or more. The louder blasts shook house walls and woke up or was heard by people all over the Yukon and Alaska. If we heard it thousands of km away I can only imagine what it was like for you.. Thanks for sharing.

[@emirachelnatalie3397]

bruh I'm in NZ and the bangs only sounded like thunder apparently in my town and I didn't hear a thing 😂.

[@Calamity_Jack]

@@emirachelnatalie3397 Yeah, I can't believe he could live so close to this major eruption and, while loud, it sounded more like a firework popping. I would have expected a much louder sound and more damage. Thankfully for him and the Tonga islands, though, it didn't!

[@emirachelnatalie3397]

@@Calamity_Jack yesss would've been so much more traumatizing too if it was louder.

[@I.amthatrealJuan]

@@Calamity_Jack Look at other videos. It's much louder than you think. People's ears were reportedly ringing in Tonga and videos clearly show the shockwave pushing objects.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Incredible to learn how far away the effects were felt!!

[@FiveCentsPlease]

You captured some fascinating footage for the historical record. After getting curious, I looked, and the Tonga eruption was estimated to be between 10 and 18 Megatons. And by comparison the Krakatoa eruption has been estimated to have been approximately 200 Megatons and with a sound level between 200 and 300 decibels. This was an incredible geological event.

[@mycroft16]

And Tambora was even bigger. Krakatoa was a VEI 6. Tambora was a 7. The only eruption that scale since A.D 215 when New Zealand's Lake Taupo erupted as a 7. Tambora ejected so much sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere that the year after was called "the year without a summer." Global temperatures remained 5.4 degrees below average for 3 years after that one. It cause a lack of monsoon that year allowing a mutated strain of cholera the spread. Reached Europe and America in 1831. By the end it killed 10s of millions of people. The drop in temp cose crop failures and famine around the world for 2 years. Typhus and dysentery spread all over Europe due to malnutrition. The amount of dust pumped into the atmosphere caused a global and visible darkening of sunlight. Paintings from these 2 years show significantly darker scenes and much more red in sunset depictions than before or after. And there is a category 8 above even this. Eventually we will have another of those and it's going to mess humanity up deeply.

[@jadeyrah]

Oh my gosh, this is fantastic! Thank you for uploading! I know so much of the world has been sitting anxiously to see footage like this, including the barometric data. Very well done!

[@MolisiDelmar]

You're so welcome!

[@dravakian]

Those booms are scary, I've seen other videos of this eruption, but just came across yours today. Incredible footage too.

[@james1234168]

This is such a unique view. Looking through your window at an event like this really allows me to place myself there and try to feel the same way you did. Even better when you noted things like pressure dropping and feeling it in your ears. Stay safe dude.

[@junimeme5626]

Agreed. Well said

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. nice you could share the experience.

[@samsmith2635]

As a student of Geology, thank you very much for this on the ground point of view and for sharing what data you could.

[@ameliabarker8403]

Thank you soooo much for posting this. Unbelievable footage man, glad someone got this information for posterity.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@c4715]

Amazing footage, amazing to hear the explosions too, thanks for posting this!

[@jkollar109]

By far the best video I've seen of this event. I'm sure it was quite unnerving living it in real time. There's no way that we could ever fully grasp what it was like to be there and see your island hit by tsunamis, rain of rock, earthquakes, ash, loss of communication, etc,etc and just the unknown. I hope you are doing well and you all are recovering/rebuilding. I believe you have some valuable data that many scientists would love to have access to.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you, Island life is peaceful....until it isn't hahaha. Islanders are used to hurricanes and such but this has been a new experience for many. For some it really has been hard with these problems compounding with others. Islanders are fairly resilient tho. Foreign aid and Rebuilding has begun.

[@animalmother1582]

Great vantage point! It's difficult to comprehend the size of that ash column. It fills the entire horizon. Incredible that it was so loud, so far away.

[@FredPlanatia]

amazing complete coverage of the experience close to the eruption site. much appreciated! Came back to add: this is what the internet is for! Sharing experience like this and connecting the world. It makes up for many other less valuable and sometimes downright negative things one encounters. So thankyou. Hopefully Tonga is recovering from the event and its aftermath.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. Its amazing how the small the world seems theses days. Lets stay positive.

[@Asterra2]

That pressure wave at 3:14 is literally the loud bang you heard shortly thereafter. Same exact thing as flash condensation seen in atom bomb test films. Not counting atomic tests, this volcanic eruption-and by extension this video, as it's one of only a few I've seen which illustrate this-is one of only *two* cases I can even think of where a sound wave persists for more than a few miles (45 in this case!) and is still powerful enough to blast high frequencies like a shotgun when it arrives. (The other being the Chelyabinsk meteor.) Given that thunder absolutely cannot do this, it's just an otherworldly phenomenon, completely outside the norm and positively surreal.

[@mycroft16]

Yeah, and a nuclear weapon Shockwave is also extremely short lived compared to a volcano on this scale. The sound was audible, clearly, in Alaska and San Francisco. Amd yeah, Chelyabinsk was another example of ridiculous energies being released in extremely short time spans. For all of our destructive abilities, we are pathetic compared to any average Tuesday for nature. The solar plasma waves that just blasted by Earth dumped the entire planet's 2022 energy consumption into the atmosphere over just Canada every single hour for 7 hours.

[@gentlegiant4572]

Best video of the eruption so far . Thank you

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. Location location location aye.

[@chalcedonyclapper1216]

One of if not the best video ive seen On this so far. Thankyou!

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. The volcano had the decency to place it self in view of my window and erupt as my Timelapse was going.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. The volcano had the decency to place it self in view of my window and erupt as my Timelapse was going.

[@TN1965]

There is so much interesting stuff on this video from a scientific and from a meteorological standpoint, especially the shockwaves on the clouds, and the massive eruption column/pyrocumulonimbus cloud expanding, and growing large enough to create its own weather effects. all of it was quite fascinating

[@MolisiDelmar]

Indeed. I’ll upload extended footage with time stamps and such when our ravaged internet cable to the island is restored.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Indeed. I’ll upload extended footage with time stamps and such when our ravaged internet cable to the island is restored.

[@TN1965]

@@MolisiDelmarI hope you guys can make a full recovery in time, I was saddened when I heard about how bad the tsunami and eruption was, hoping you all are safe, and here's hoping that they can get the internet cable restored soon.

[@Dave-id6sj]

Thank you for uploading this and telling us what was happening, pretty intense and the sound from 73km away was insane. Did you happen to notice any unusual behaviour from wildlife, birds, pets, etc. prior to the eruption? There are instances of them in other places acting strangely before events like this or earthquakes.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Your welcome. That's true I do hear that. I didn't notice much happening regarding wildlife that day. I was mostly inside. The day before tho there was a prior eruption in which we all could smell sulphur which was a new event. To me tho I was quite alarmed of swirling currents around the coast also the day before. Then it all settled. The air was very still that night and the sunset was amazing probably due to all the ash in the air. The next day a few hours before this eruption the tsunami warning was canceled then boom the Volcano was like gotcha!

[@cast390]

73 Kilometers is about 45 miles. Those explosions were intense sounding.

[@holmesteadready]

I was in Fiji at the time, it was such a strange experience, the explosions and shock waves coming through.. Totally sounded like a war in the distance

[@I.amthatrealJuan]

That timelapse @ 1:55 looks very much like the Ivy Mike mushroom cloud & shockwave permeating the sky, the difference is that there were multiple visible pressure waves from this event.

[@MolisiDelmar]

I’ll check it out. Interesting having multiple pressure waves. I look forward to learning why. There sure must have been a lot of energy and displacement of materials.

[@MolisiDelmar]

I’ll check it out. Interesting having multiple pressure waves. I look forward to learning why. There sure must have been a lot of energy and displacement of materials.

[@trumpisaconfirmedcuck5840]

Because it's a medium sized volcanic eruption and mother nature has much more powerful weapons in her arsenal than we do.

[@mycroft16]

Ivy Mike was a drop in the bucket compared to this volcano. And the volcano is a pressure explosion mostly. This one had the added kick of flash steam explosions as it was underwater. A nuke doesn't even really due much physical damage in terms of the ground. A volcano can literally excavate an entire mountain leaving a caldera in a mater of seconds and toss all of that rock 4 miles into the sky with ease.

[@RockDodger]

OMG what a brilliant video.. Without a doubt the most detailed boots on the ground footage ive seen.. Thanks for uploading.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you glad you enjoyed it

[@chrstphrchrlsbrwn]

Very nicely done!! I appreciate you calmly explaining things such as the pressure wave before the sound, etc. Good job!

[@RickBakker82]

Woh, this is the most impressive footage I have seen so far. There isn't a lot of footage of the big one

[@MolisiDelmar]

I wonder where the Tonga Geological services was. They were on a boat capturing previous eruptions.

[@RickBakker82]

@@MolisiDelmar If they where as close to the eruption as the day before I fear the worst

[@mycarolinaskies]

@Molisi Delmar I think they lost a lot of equipment and data from nearby from early reports

[@rudytheastro.5023]

Likely the most impressive footage and its very well documented from this eruption.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you ☺️

[@LighthawkTenchi]

This is impressive stuff! I live in Florida, and we have hurricanes here, but nothing like this

[@ashleywintle8570]

You’re part of history my friend, one of the most powerful eruptions ever

[@joshs4594]

“What fun is an apocalyptic day without the full moon?” Excellent comment. You have to maintain a sense of humor in times like this to keep your fears at bay.

[@reneedaniel2881]

Absolutely incredible, glad your safe.

[@mjproebstle]

Amazing front row seat! Glad you’re alright mate! Cheers!

[@youchris67]

Excellent work on your documentary of an historical event like this. Hope you're safe down there. Cheers from the US.

[@trumpwon2240]

Absolutely incredible. I wonder how seasons will be affected in the different hemispheres

[@markedwinwebb]

Wow, what an experience! Thank you for sharing.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nick4819]

That's really interesting that you can feel the pressure change prior to the noise.

[@flightmaster1213]

This is incredible. I saw this in the galley at work and couldn’t believe it, it’s truly awesome to see it from the ground

[@beefjezos2713]

One of the most poignant and insightful videos Ive ever seen on this platform. Fantastic job at documenting this. I only hope that in the same position I would have been able to produce what you’ve produced here.

[@MolisiDelmar]

That's very kind of you to say. Thank you.

[@mrquackadoodlemoo]

>The eruption was so strong that it condensed the clouds and blew out a guy's ceiling over 70kms away with just the shockwave pressure alone I'm sitting here slackjawed in awe. Ha'apai was something entirely new, wasn't it?

[@SimonSenaviev]

Wait until you learn about Krakatoa

[@BroAnarchy]

So surreal to see this all transpire in real (ish) time. The part that hits me really hard (no pun intended) is when you said it was raining rocks from the sky... That's freakin' crazy......

[@tinto278]

Molisi Delmar hey man best video on the eruption! Good work man.

[@drgonzo767]

Incredible documentation of this event, thank you for sharing.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you

[@armandomercado2248]

In the Midwest US, there was a 3 millibar bump in air pressure as the shock wave past, about 12 hours after the explosion.

[@vmaks_official]

The man is back! Glad youre ok!?

[@MolisiDelmar]

Yes I’m okay thank you. I was able to upload the lo res video from the main internet provider in town. Other than that internet is very limited. I’m hoping they will fix fibre cable soon and all upload some more footage of the day after and clean up. Unfortunately the internet cable isn’t were it used to be but I’m sure they fix it soon. It’s a bit hard for the country to be on lockdown for two weeks (Covid Is now here) and have no internet.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Yes I’m okay thank you. I was able to upload the lo res video from the main internet provider in town. Other than that internet is very limited. I’m hoping they will fix fibre cable soon and all upload some more footage of the day after and clean up. Unfortunately the internet cable isn’t were it used to be but I’m sure they fix it soon. It’s a bit hard for the country to be on lockdown for two weeks (Covid Is now here) and have no internet.

[@kagato82]

Absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing all of this.

[@MolisiDelmar]

your welcome.

[@arloc_official]

you know its a big thing when "the whole building is shaking" 73km away from it. the sound is absolutely crazy aswell

[@MolisiDelmar]

Yes it was a surprise...you wonder who big these things can get. Its good it wasn't any bigger.

[@chartphred1]

Excellent Summary and footage.

[@rizmid]

This is the best presentation documented of a phenomenal event for which many of us as humans were curious and provoked by! A fan and an admirer from Pakistan!

[@hotmoffitt]

Awesome video! I never knew that about the pressure drops that happens before a big shock wave hits. Really cool!

[@Onehelluvahotel69]

Thank you for recording this amazing but scary footage.

[@strlightcutie521]

Thank you so much for this video. Your commentary, the footage, the info. Thank you!

[@P-G-77]

WOW MAN... nice fottage, thanks and i'm happy which had no damage, and above all that he was not hurt. 😮

[@MolisiDelmar]

ahh indeed. That reminds me I was looking at the Local weather forecast the other day and the two warning advisories where. "Drought Warning" and "Flood Warning" both at the same time!

[@sky173]

Amazing footage! Thanks for sharing your view.

[@jeremyjames2643]

Geez that's amazing footage you got right there, I live in California closest thing we got to raining ash. The skies turn blood orange and it rains ash like in silent hill, but if I was as close from those fires as tonga would be I believe the pressure wave would likely kill me I can imagine it would look apocalyptic seeing the tonga explosion from that distance really valuable footage right here.

[@genuvien17]

Glad you shared this. Incredible event.

[@doxielain2231]

Wow, the pressure wave on the clouds, wow

[@logikylearguments6852]

That's wild to see the clouds moving in the time-lapse, awesome power. Incredible experience too have, but about as close as you'd want to be lol.

[@NuncaPowellHasSpoken01101]

Wonderful video, informative, objective, and utterly surreal to an American! Thank you for sharing

[@danielhostetler9493]

That sound of ash falling reminded me of Mt. St.Helens in 1980. It was not a sound I enjoyed hearing again. So glad it wasn’t worse for you all. Hopefully, you’ll see the massive growth of fruits and vegetables in your next growing seasons… it was a wild experience seeing what a great fertilizer ash is.

[@MolisiDelmar]

wow- yes sounds bring back the memories don't they. St Helens was huge! We were just remarking today how some of the hibiscus flowers are flourishing. Out of the ashes...as they say.

[@idot3331]

This is brilliant. People want good footage of the explosion "from the ground", but the explosion was just too monumentally large to capture from the ground. The cloud extends so far into the sky that it becomes hardly distinguishable from it. The edge of the ash cloud at 3:41 is just incredible, just a small corner of it looms on the scale of some kind of planetary rings or a near orbiting moon.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. Yes amazing. I wish had a better vantage point it was just so big.

[@VinciGlassArt]

I'm in awe watching this. Wow...speechless.

[@NANDOFFDataRecovery]

Thanks for documenting.. Intense. Must have been very scary

[@MolisiDelmar]

It was a bit. Your welcome

[@maxq3372]

Great video mate, well done. Those pressure waves must be amazing to witness like that.... Stay safe bro..

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you, yes pretty amazing to witness. Im glad when these things happen during the day and on the weekend. Staying safe is the goal.

[@davidglagow1765]

Wow thanks for the upload, watching from Germany. Think this is the best footage so far and captures a little how you must have felt. Glad you're okay! Quite a historic event!

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you, you're welcome. Who said history was boring eh?

[@johncnorris]

What an experience! I'm glad you are okay.

[@papa_ya83]

Many many thanks for this report of the erruption - awesome

[@garrettsmith419]

73 km (45 miles) away and seeing the ash cloud THAT high up in the atmosphere is mind boggling to me

[@jr6136]

Astonishing. Thank you for your composed commentary.

[@spamviking]

I live in Brisbane, the drops in air pressure caused by the shockwaves passing caused thunderstorms here.

[@michaelmedina6839]

This is one of the most fascinating videos I've ever watched.

[@GameBos]

You live in a beautiful, calm and yet exciting place. Stay safe and thanks for sharing

[@MolisiDelmar]

Yes I do. Its is very beautiful most of the time, the outer islands in particular. Thank you

[@nicholasselvaggi54]

Continued love and prayers from the States my friend. 🙏

[@jackzimmer6553]

Thanks very much for sharing that. I can’t imagine how scary that must hav been!

[@UshTheGreat]

This is seriously impressive footage!

[@callmeshaggy5166]

I just can't get how from space the eruption cloud is at least 1000km wide but on the ground it's like.... nothing?? Blue skies 70km away????

[@mpk6664]

3:30 that sounded like an AK-47 going off. Crazy. As someone majoring in Geology I would love to get my hands on some of that ash.

[@MolisiDelmar]

Well there are many tons of it here! It is amazing. You will see a lot more in my follow up video showing some fall out and clean up. It’s done a great job of killing a lot of weeds. Unfortunately broad leaf plants that had ash on the leaves seemed incapable of photosynthesis and been burned. In it’s wet sate it’s a bit like black sand. When it isn’t overly saturated it’s has the feel of cement plaster nice and fluffy. In its dry state very dusty. The larger granules of stone are like a very fine black gravel.

[@mpk6664]

@@MolisiDelmar I hope the islands affected can make a quick recovery and not many health issues arrive due to the ash. And thanks for the descriptions. Very cool in a very weird way lol.

[@watrgrl2]

Great recording of this unbelievable event ! Hope you are getting the help you all need to recover from this disaster!

[@MolisiDelmar]

Thank you. I think supplies are still coming in. People have been very generous. Most people are okay now, but now facing the business end of Covid. 😬

[@Wag2112]

@@MolisiDelmar Ya we are getting our second wave of covid now too. Michigan gets its share of weather, but normally as blizzards. I spent some time in Florida, so kow about watching the Bar. for hurricanes . We have our ears do the pressure thing at various altitudes on the local roads . Never even considered feeling it for something like this, and I have been up on Etna. Good Luck !!

[@watrgrl2]

@@MolisiDelmar I had understood that Tonga hadn’t yet been afflicted with covid due to its isolation and strict Covid restrictions. Did the emergency aid bring it in with them?

[@revelgirl1742]

Just found myself watching this again! Still mind-blowing! Hope you all have recovered without any long term issues. 🌋💥 the booms freak me out

[@SyNcLife]

the timelapse is awesome!

[@johnhavens8199]

Thanks for sharing, this is fantastic stuff!

[@Astronomynatureandmusic]

Looking at this one year later. Impressive stuff - specifically those clouds being moved back and forth - never seen something like that before.... How are things now?

[@klapaucius500]

Incredible footage

[@carlamarlene2927]

It's crazy how the clouds move.

[@LuwieMangubat]

a loud boom from 70km range, and a shock wave in that distance.. imagine you are near that place, you'll probably loss consciousness.

[@lassei4659]

Great documented footage. Good job!