Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai erupted Saturday, sending waves crashing into Nukuʻalofa and prompting security forces to evacuate King ʻAhoʻeitu Tupou VI from his seaside palace, the Associated Press reports. “Can literally hear the volcano eruption, sounds pretty violent. Raining ash and tiny pebbles, darkness blanketing the sky,” Dr. Faka’iloatonga Taumoefolau posted on Twitter as the undersea volcano erupted 40 miles north of the capitol. Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai is widely regarded in volcanological circles as a failure that, despite its potential, has not created any lasting impact on neighboring islands nor formed any sustained island itself.