A magnitude 6.8 earthquake rattled Tonga in the early hours of Wednesday morning, November 25 but there were no immediate reports of damage from the quake which was felt with a moderate intensity in Tongatapu and Ha'apai.
The quake was felt at at 01.47:16 am local time in Tonga.
The quake woke residents in Nuku'alofa and in Pangai, some of whom ran outside. There were no immediate reports of damage. Dogs barked while houses and shelves rattled for a few seconds.
Recorded by the US Geological Survey, at 12:47:16 UTC, the moderate intensity quake was located at a depth of 62km, to the east of Tonga. The epicenter was at 20.713S, 173.432W, a distance of 193km from Nuku'alofa and 237 km from Neiafu, Tonga. See USGS.
The USGS also recorded two further earthquakes in Tonga of magnitude 5.6 at 2:04 am located 130km ENE of Nuku'alofa at a depth of 10km, ; and magnitude 5.1 at 2:32 am located 160km NE of Nuku'alofa at a depth of 10km .
Location of epicenter, east of Tonga, image courtesy USGS.
There was no tsunami alert from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center:
TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 001
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1257Z 24 NOV 2009
THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS...EXCEPT ALASKA...BRITISH COLUMBIA... WASHINGTON...OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...
THIS BULLETIN IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
THIS BULLETIN IS ISSUED AS ADVICE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. ONLY NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE DECISIONS REGARDING THE OFFICIAL STATE OF ALERT IN THEIR AREA AND ANY ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN RESPONSE. AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 1247Z 24 NOV 2009
COORDINATES - 20.8 SOUTH 173.5 WEST
DEPTH - 33 KM
LOCATION - TONGA ISLANDS
MAGNITUDE - 6.8
EVALUATION
NO DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS BASED ON HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.
HOWEVER - EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE SOMETIMES GENERATE LOCAL TSUNAMIS THAT CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS LOCATED WITHIN A HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION OF THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION.
THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BULLETIN ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE.
