A Tongan volcano has created a substantial new island since it began erupting last month and spewing out huge volumes of rock and dense ash. The volcano, about 65 kilometres north west of the South Pacific nation's capital Nuku'alofa, rumbled to life on December 20 for the first time in five years, the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry said. It said the volcano was erupting from two vents, one on the uninhabited island of Hunga Ha'apai and the other underwater about 100 metres offshore. Scroll down for video . A new island has formed from an ongoing volcanic eruption about 65 kilometres north west of Tonga's capital . The ministry said experts took a boat trip to view the eruption on Thursday and confirmed it had transformed the local landscape. 'The new island is more than one kilometre wide, two kilometres long and about 100 metres high,' it said in a statement. 'During our observations the volcano was erupting about every five minutes to a height of about 400 metres, accompanied by some large rocks... as the ash is very wet, most is being deposited close to the vent, building up the new island.' It said ash and acidic rain was deluging an area 10 kilometres around the volcano and killing of nearby vegetation, adding: 'Leaves on trees on Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai have died, probably caused by volcanic ash and gases.' The new island is more than one kilometre wide, two kilometres long and about 100 metres high . Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (marked) sits beneath the ocean 65km northwest of Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa. The volcano gets its name from the two islands it is situated between - Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai . A number of international flights were cancelled earlier this week amid concerns about the volcano's ash plume, which reached heights of more than 4,500 metres. However they resumed on Wednesday, with authorities saying debris from the eruption was not being thrown high into the atmosphere. The underwater volcano was also responsible for causing a so-called red tide., also known as an algal bloom, in which the surrounding ocean turned the colour of blood. An algal bloom occurs when there is a sudden increase in the amount of algae in water. It is said to be part of the volcanic Pacific Ring of Fire and was one of a 36 undersea volcanoes locally . When levels of nitrogen and phosphorus rise, which can be caused by underwater eruptions such as the one off the coast of Tonga, algae can multiply. Typically, this causes water to turn green, but the effect also causes reds and yellows to be released. In particular, a bloom of dinoflagellate algae causes water to turn blood red in colour. Tonga, which is almost 2,000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, lies on the  Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where continental plates collide causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity. These natural-colour images from 29 December and 31 December show the waters around Tonga, Hunga Tonga, and Hunga Ha'apai. They were taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) on Nasa's Terra satellite. Dense cloud cover prevented other remote observations for several days . When levels of nitrogen and phosphorus rise in water, which can be caused by underwater eruptions such as the one off the coast of Tonga, algae can multiply. Typically, this causes water to turn green, but the effect also causes reds (pictured in Ecuador) and yellows to be released .
The new island is more than one kilometre wide, two kilometres long and about 100 metres high .
It was created by the volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, which lies 65km north of Tonga's capital .
Its ash originally reached heights of over 4,500 metres, but is now only reaching 400 metres .
'As the ash is very wet, most is being deposited close to the vent, building up the new island,' the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry said .
Ash and acidic rain from the eruption are deluging an area 10 kilometres around the volcano and killing of nearby vegetation .
A Tongan volcano has created a substantial new island since it began erupting last month and spewing out huge volumes of rock and dense ash. The volcano, about 65 kilometres north west of the South Pacific nation's capital Nuku'alofa, rumbled to life on December 20 for the first time in five years, the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry said. It said the volcano was erupting from two vents, one on the uninhabited island of Hunga Ha'apai and the other underwater about 100 metres offshore. Scroll down for video . A new island has formed from an ongoing volcanic eruption about 65 kilometres north west of Tonga's capital . The ministry said experts took a boat trip to view the eruption on Thursday and confirmed it had transformed the local landscape. 'The new island is more than one kilometre wide, two kilometres long and about 100 metres high,' it said in a statement. 'During our observations the volcano was erupting about every five minutes to a height of about 400 metres, accompanied by some large rocks... as the ash is very wet, most is being deposited close to the vent, building up the new island.' It said ash and acidic rain was deluging an area 10 kilometres around the volcano and killing of nearby vegetation, adding: 'Leaves on trees on Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai have died, probably caused by volcanic ash and gases.' The new island is more than one kilometre wide, two kilometres long and about 100 metres high . Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (marked) sits beneath the ocean 65km northwest of Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa. The volcano gets its name from the two islands it is situated between - Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai . A number of international flights were cancelled earlier this week amid concerns about the volcano's ash plume, which reached heights of more than 4,500 metres. However they resumed on Wednesday, with authorities saying debris from the eruption was not being thrown high into the atmosphere. The underwater volcano was also responsible for causing a so-called red tide., also known as an algal bloom, in which the surrounding ocean turned the colour of blood. An algal bloom occurs when there is a sudden increase in the amount of algae in water. It is said to be part of the volcanic Pacific Ring of Fire and was one of a 36 undersea volcanoes locally . When levels of nitrogen and phosphorus rise, which can be caused by underwater eruptions such as the one off the coast of Tonga, algae can multiply. Typically, this causes water to turn green, but the effect also causes reds and yellows to be released. In particular, a bloom of dinoflagellate algae causes water to turn blood red in colour. Tonga, which is almost 2,000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, lies on the  Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where continental plates collide causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity. These natural-colour images from 29 December and 31 December show the waters around Tonga, Hunga Tonga, and Hunga Ha'apai. They were taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) on Nasa's Terra satellite. Dense cloud cover prevented other remote observations for several days . When levels of nitrogen and phosphorus rise in water, which can be caused by underwater eruptions such as the one off the coast of Tonga, algae can multiply. Typically, this causes water to turn green, but the effect also causes reds (pictured in Ecuador) and yellows to be released .
in five years, the Lands and Natural Resources 'The new island is more than one kilometre wide, two kilometres long and about 100 metres high,' some large rocks... as the ash is very wet, most is being deposited close to the vent, building up the new island.' It said ash and acidic rain was deluging an area 10 kilometres around the volcano and killing of nearby vegetation, adding: 'Leaves the ocean 65km northwest of Tonga's capital reached heights of more than 4,500 metres. authorities saying debris from the eruption was