Explosive Eruptions

On January 15, 2022, the underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in the South Pacific Ocean erupted. Scientists recently discussed the blast at the American Geophysical Union in fall 2022. The eruption was so explosive that it launched water vapor into space and triggered the most concentrated lightning event ever detected. Scientists estimated that there were at least 400,000 lightning flashes around the volcano.

Science News magazine called the explosion “a first-of-its-kind observation for an earthly volcano.” But that probably isn’t true. Imagine what went on at the time of the Genesis flood, when “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth.” Genesis 7:11 is describing volcanic eruptions that occurred as the ocean floor was ripped open on a global scale, triggering the flood. This recent eruption gives us a glimpse at the worst catastrophe of all time—the flood of Noah’s day.

This article is from Answers magazine, July–September, 2023, p. 18.