It was a blast felt round the world.

A volcano erupted in Tonga last month.

The Pacific nation of Tonga was inundated with large tsunami waves as residents rushed

to higher ground.

Video posted to social media showed the waves swirling around homes and buildings in coastal areas.

The waves that it caused spread across the Pacific and eventually hit the West Coast.

I'm Gustavaryano.

You're listening to The Times, Daily News from the LA Times.

It's Tuesday, February 8, 2022.

Soon after the eruption, tsunami warnings were issued from Asia to North and South America

to Australia.

There was none of the devastation like the World Sun Fukushima in 2011 or across the Indian

ocean in 2004.

But what happened in Tonga got us thinking, how are the effects of tsunami so devastating,

yet so little is known about them?

That's why today we're calling together, as usual,

are Masters of Disasters.

Musica maestro.

Musica maestro.

Music Musica maestro Up first we have Ron Lynn who covers earthquakes and Ron, earthquakes even cause river tsunamis, right? Lake tsunamis, you name it. Oh, that's so scary. Next is Alex Wigglesworth, who covers fire. And yes, there's a fire component to tsunamis as well. Welcome, Alex. Hello. And joining us this month is David Pearson, who covers Southeast Asia for the Los Angeles Times. He's not a master of disaster,

per se, but he does cover disasters masterfully. So, David, glad you could join us.

Hey, thank you for having me. Welcome, all. And Ron, let's start with you because you're the

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