May 3, 2006
By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer
USGS / ESMC
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck early Thursday near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A warning said it was possible a tsunami could hit Fiji and New Zealand within minutes.
Photo: Scientists check a seismograph during a simulation of a tsunami in December 2005. US authorities issued a tsunami warning for New Zealand and Fiji following a massive 8.0 earthquake off the Pacific islands of Tonga. (AFP/File/Adek Berry)
A Tongan police officer in the capital, Nuku'alofa, said there were no immediate reports of damage or a tsunami.
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. National Weather Service warned that a tsunami could strike Fiji as soon as 1:13 p.m. EDT Wednesday and New Zealand by 2:21 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
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.
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.
A great earthquake has struck the Tonga Islands. This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude: Mw 8.1
Region: TONGA ISLANDS
Date Time: 2006-05-03 at 15:26:37.1 UTC
Location: 20 S ; 174.31 W
Depth: 40 km
Distances:
155 km (95 miles) S of Neiafu, Tonga
160 km (100 miles) NE of NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga
455 km (280 miles) S of Hihifo, Tonga
2145 km (1340 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.emsc-csem.org/index.php?page=current&sub=detail&id=IN349;CSEM
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/usmgas.php#details