A horrifying clip showing the massive boom caused by Tonga's volcano eruption has surfaced.
The underwater volcano erupted on January 15 near the island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai.
Footage taken on the shoreline shows the moment a man ran in terror after the huge boom bellowed across the ocean.
Three people were confirmed dead this week including Briton Angela Glover - but the death toll could rise according to authorities.
Angela Glover, 50, who ran a dog rescue shelter on the island, was swept away with the animals while her husband James managed to hold onto a tree, according to New Zealand state broadcaster TVNZ.
Satellite imagery captured the incredible moment the volcano erupted sending out a shock wave across the ocean seen from space.
The event triggered a tsunami and sent waves crashing into homes on the island, which was blanketed with toxic ash.
The Red Cross said it was preparing to respond to what it called the worst volcanic eruption the Pacific has experienced in decades.
Up to 80,000 people could have been affected by the tsunami, according to charity spokeswoman Katie Greenwood.
Tsunami warnings and evacuation orders were also triggered in neighbouring countries, including Japan and the east coast of Australia.
Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai has erupted regularly over the past few decades but the impact of Saturday's blast was felt as far away as Japan and the United States.
Australia and New Zealand sent surveillance flights on Monday to assess damage in Tonga - an island isolated from the rest of the world.
Tonga's deputy head of mission in Australia, Curtis Tu'ihalangingie, asked for patience as the nation's Government decides its priorities for aid.
The island is concerned about the risk of aid deliveries spreading Covid-19 to the island, which is currently free from the virus.
"We don't want to bring in another wave - a tsunami of Covid-19," Mr Tu'ihalangingie said.
"When people see such a huge explosion they want to help."
He went on to highlight how Tonga diplomats were also concerned by some private fundraising efforts and urged the public to wait until a disaster relief fund was announced.
Any aid sent to Tonga would need to be quarantined and it was likely no foreign personnel would be allowed to disembark aircraft, he said.
The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano triggered a tsunami on the shores of Tonga and cut off phone and internet lines for the entire island.
International communication has been severely hampered by damage to an undersea cable which could take more than a week to restore.
Australia and New Zealand were assisting with satellite calls, he said.
Telephone networks in Tonga have since been restored, but ash was posing a major health concern, contaminating drinking water.
"Most people are not aware the ash is toxic and bad for them to breath and they have to wear a mask," Tu'ihalangingie said.
The Ha'atafu Beach Resort, 13 miles outside the capital Nuku'alofa, was "completely wiped out'', the owners said on Facebook.
The family managing the resort had run for their lives through the bush to escape the tsunami, it said.
"The whole western coastline has been completely destroyed along with Kanukupolu village,'' the resort said.
