Strong earthquake jolts the Pacific Ocean near Tonga

Strong earthquake jolts the Pacific Ocean near Tonga

2011-10-08 16:40:49 GMT+7 (ICT)

PANGAI, TONGA (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck off the Pacific island nation of Tonga on late Saturday evening, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake at 9.53 p.m. local time (0853 GMT) was centered about 142 kilometers (88 miles) southeast of Pangai, a village on the western shore of Lifuka island. It struck about 19.6 kilometers (12.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but the USGS estimated that several thousand people on nearby islands may have felt very light shaking which would unlikely result in damage. Lifuka has a population of around 3,000 people.

As earthquakes below magnitude 7 do usually not generate tsunamis, no tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Tonga is on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin that is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. Volcanic eruptions also occur frequently in the region, which is one of the most geologically active parts in the world.

Tonga, with a population of around 104,000 people, is made up of 169 islands sprinkled over the Pacific Ocean about one-third of the way from New Zealand to Hawaii. Only thirty-nine of the islands are inhabited.

On September 29, 2009, an 8.1-magnitude earthquake struck 185 kilometers (115 miles) east-northeast of Hihifo on Tonga, unleashing giant tsunamis that killed nearly 200 people and injured hundreds more in Tonga, American Samoa, Samoa, and other nearby islands.

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