Wellington, New Zealand –A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck early
Thursday near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, prompting tsunami warnings for as
far away as Fiji and New Zealand. The warning was lifted after a tsunami of less
than 2 feet was recorded.
There were no reports of a tsunami or damage from the quake. The Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center in Honolulu lifted its tsunami warning for all areas within several
hours. It said there was no data indicating that the earthquake generated a giant
wave.
The temblor, classified by the USGS as a “great” quake, struck 95 miles south of
Neiafu, Tonga, and 1,340 miles north-northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. It
occurred 20 miles beneath the sea floor.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was not known whether the quake
generated a potentially deadly giant wave. It issued the warning for Tonga, Niue,
American Samoa, Samoa, Wallis-Futuna, Fiji.
A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii, but the warning center said the
earthquake, based on historical records, was not sufficient to generate a tsunami
damaging to the Pacific coasts of the United States and Canada, and Alaska. Some
areas may experience small sea-level changes.
Tonga a 170-island archipelago about halfway between Australia and Tahiti has
a population of about 108,000 and an economy dependent on pumpkin and vanilla
exports, fishing, foreign aid and remittances from Tongans abroad.
It is ruled by 87-year-old King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, who is ailing.
On Dec. 26, 2004, the most powerful earthquake in four decades magnitude 9.0
ripped apart the Indian Ocean floor off Indonesia’s Sumatra island, displacing
millions of tons of water and spawning giant waves that sped off in all directions.
The tsunami left at least 216,000 people dead or missing in a dozen nations.
Fiji, a South Pacific country made up of more than 300 islands, a third of which
are inhabited, is regularly rattled by earthquakes, but few cause any damage or
casualties.
