Key Takeaways
- A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Tonga in the early hours, with no reports of damage yet.
- The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami threat, but later lifted it.
- The earthquake had a depth of 29 km and was centered in the Ha’apai group of islands in Tonga.
Suva: Tonga’s National Disaster Risk Management Office (NDRMO) said on Monday that no damage was reported for all areas after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake woke Tonga in the early hours.
The 7.0-magnitude quake hit 73 km southeast of Pangai, a town in the Ha’apai group of islands in Tonga, at 01:18 local time on Monday. The quake had a depth of 29 km, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
People in Tonga had earlier been told to move to higher ground or further inland after a tsunami threat was issued, but the alert was later lifted by the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center.
Aftershocks are continuing centered in the same area — one measuring at 6.2, the USGS said.
The NDRMO said there had been no reports of damage yet from the outer islands and the main island of Tongatapu, adding that most people had returned home after the tsunami warnings were lifted.
A local resident told Xinhua that the earthquake was felt strongly in the capital Nuku’alofa, but his house was not damaged at all.
Tonga is made up of 173 islands with a population of just over 100,000 people, most of whom live on the main island of Tongatapu, which is about 100 km away from the epicenter.
