7.6 magnitude earthquake hits Tonga, no tsunami warning issued
- Earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 on the Richter scale hit Tonga
- The earthquake was recorded at a depth of 212 km
- No tsunami warning issued after earthquake
An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale hit Tonga on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said.
The quake was at a depth of 212 km (132 mi) and its epicenter was located 73 km northwest of Hihifo, Tonga, the USGS reported.
The US tsunami warning system said there was no tsunami warning.
Hihifo is the main village on Niuatoputapu Island, north of Tonga’s main island group.
An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck Tonga, a small archipelago in the South Pacific, on Thursday
The earthquake was followed by a 5.1 aftershock at 04:30 NZT, with the effects felt in Samoa and the islands of Wallis and Futuna.
Last November, an island off the coast of Tonga was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale.
The earthquake, with a depth of 25.4 miles, slammed into the sea about 200 miles east of southeastern Neiafu, a city in the northeastern Pacific archipelago, shortly before midnight local time.
Angie Pula Letuligasenoa was at her home in Iliili, near Pago Pago International Airport, when the ‘rolling’ earthquake hit.
She said it felt like the shaking lasted 20 to 30 seconds.
“A few things fell off my shelf, but the windows were shaking, and that’s the scary thing,” she told Radio New Zealand.
“So I got up, said a quick prayer.”
An island off the coast of Tonga was hit by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in November 2022
Months earlier, a submarine volcano erupted in Tonga on Jan. 14, killing three people (pictured, damaged buildings after volcanic eruption and tsunami)
Locals living in Tonga’s coastal towns quickly rushed to evacuate and drove to higher ground following an initial tsunami warning, which was later lifted.
Video shows long queues of cars forming in the Tongan capital of Nuku’alofa as locals tried to move further inland and stay away from impending tsunami waves.
Months earlier, a submarine volcano erupted in Tonga on Jan. 14, killing three people, blanketing the main island in a thick layer of volcanic ash and sending millions of tons of water vapor high into the atmosphere.
More to come.