According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred in the southeast Neiafu Sea off Tonga.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) added that the quake triggered a tsunami warning along the coasts of Niue and Tonga, within a radius of 300km from the quake’s epicenter. The organization explained that the waves did not threaten the largest countries in Oceania, Australia and New Zealand.
The USGS said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km and the effects were felt most in Tonga, a small archipelago of more than 170 islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Chief among these, Tongatapu was hit by a tsunami in January this year caused by the eruption of an underwater volcano that created waves of more than 1 meter and flooded many areas of the capital, Nuku’alofa.
Images shared by residents and tourists today showed tsunami warnings emitted by horns blasting across the islands and hundreds of cars fleeing areas close to beaches and seeking refuge in the most central areas.
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