



Help students explain the Hunga Tonga eruption of 2022 and evaluate the response to a volcanic disaster in an island setting.
This detailed specific example follows Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai from its subduction setting to the eruption, tsunami, ashfall and disruption to communications. Tonga provides a clear context for examining how isolation, damaged transport links and water supplies can affect disaster response.
Learning covered
- Locate Tonga and describe the volcano’s tectonic setting.
- Explain the processes behind the submarine eruption.
- Sequence the eruption and its associated hazards.
- Classify social, economic and environmental impacts.
- Explain how isolation and damaged infrastructure affected the response.
- Evaluate preparation and responses using named evidence.
Teaching options and materials
Choose between the tiered Full Lesson presentation and the focused Essentials presentation. Matching materials include the Full Lesson workbook in colour, black and white and a version for typed responses, plus completed and student-notes Essentials Booklets with black-and-white alternatives. Exam practice, a mark scheme, a short assessment and a START HERE guide are included.
Dispatch from the Pacific
Teams write a dated dispatch from the first week after the eruption, taking the roles of eyewitness, scientist, aid worker and editor. They put events in order and trace every figure to the taught material. The editor checks the claims before a new rumour tests what the team is willing to report. The task develops careful use of evidence alongside understanding of the disaster and response. The collaborative lesson has its own presentation and printable pack.
Designed for ages 14–16 and Cambridge IGCSE Geography 0460 tectonics topics. Supplied as PowerPoint and Word files, plus a PDF guide. Text and tasks can be adapted; illustrations are embedded images. The resource is supplied as three downloads; images in the Full Lesson presentation are compressed to fit the upload limit.
Module 6 of the six-module Geography Oasis Plate Tectonics unit.
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