Powerful 7.6 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks South Pacific Near Tonga, USGS Reports

A significant earthquake, initially measured at a magnitude of 7.6, shook the region near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, leading to coastal evacuations. However, no extensive tsunami alerts were issued.

The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake occurred early Tuesday evening, local time, at a depth of around 237 kilometers (148 miles). Earthquakes occurring at shallower depths tend to have a more pronounced impact on the surface.

The epicenter was located offshore, approximately 153 kilometers (95 miles) to the west of Neiafu, which is the second-largest town in Tonga.

As of now, there have been no immediate reports of any damage.

The National Disaster Risk Management Office of Tonga advised residents of the low-lying island nation to evacuate to higher ground or move inland as a precaution.

People should avoid beaches, shorelines, and low-lying coastal areas until an all-clear was given, said a post on the office’s Facebook page.

The USGS did not issue a tsunami warning for the region, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said in a bulletin that there was no tsunami threat because the quake was “located too deep inside the earth.”

Tonga is an archipelago in Polynesia made up of 171 islands with just over 100,000 people, most of whom live on the main island of Tongatapu. Tuesday’s quake was centered nearer to the Vava’u island group.

A person who answered the phone at the Tanoa International Dateline Hotel on the beachfront at Nuku’alofa, which is on Tongatapu, said she wasn’t aware of any damage.

“The whole building shaked. No further damage. Everything was ok,” she said.

Tonga is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the arc of seismic faults where much of the world’s earthquake and volcanic activity occurs. A tsunami set off by a volcanic eruption in 2022 killed three people.

The island nation is about 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) northeast of New Zealand, where disaster management officials said Tuesday that there was no tsunami threat to the country.
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Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk contributed from Melbourne, Australia.