Powerful quake rattles Tonga
NUKU’ALOFA: A powerful earthquake hit near the South Pacific
archipelago of Tonga on Sunday, but there was no tsunami alert and no
immediate report of injuries, Australian seismologists said.
The 6.8-magnitude quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10
kilometres (six miles) and hit east of the Tongan capital of Nuku’alofa,
Geoscience Australia said.
An AFP correspondent said the Tongan capital shook for about two
minutes but said she did not see any damage, and no tsunami alert was
issued for the island nation.
“We’ve got it at a magnitude 6.8 and very shallow,” seismologist
Clive Collins told AFP. “There’s been some light shaking in Nuku’alofa.”
The US Geological Survey and the Hong Kong Observatory registered the
magnitude at 7.1.
Sunday, AFP
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