Earthquake hits Tonga, tsunami warning issued

SUVA, Fiji (Reuters) – An earthquake measuring 8.1 hit the
Tonga islands, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Web site said
on Wednesday and a tsunami warning was issued for Tonga, Fiji,
New Zealand and other South Pacific states.

The warning said it was not known if a tsunami had been
generated by the quake but that any such wave would have hit
Suva, Fiji, at 1713 GMT and Gisborne, New Zealand, at 1821 GMT.

“It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning
is based only on the earthquake evaluation. An earthquake of
this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami,”
said the Pacific Tsunami Center said.

The earthquake was at 4.26 a.m. local time (1526 GMT) and
was at 16.1 km (10 miles) depth, said the Web site monitored in
London.

A police officer in Tonga told Britain’s Sky Television it
was the largest tremor for over 20 years but there were no
immediate reports of damage. He said electricity went out
though later came back.

Another witness told Sky the earthquake was felt in several
islands and a resident of Tonga told Sky he felt tremors
lasting over 30 seconds.

Fiji radio in the capital Suva said there were no initial
reports of a tsunami. “There have been no reports of any
problems, but it is early in the morning” said a reporter for
Fiji’s FM96 radio station.

A warning was also issued for Hawaii in the United States
but no destructive threat was seen, according to the Pacific
Tsunami Center.

It said some coastal areas in Hawaii could experience small
sea-level changes and strong or unusual currents lasting up to
several hours beginning at 11:33 a.m. Hawaiian time (2133 GMT).

The earthquake struck 95 miles south of Tonga’s Neiafu
island and 1340 miles north east of Auckland, New Zealand, USGS
said.

The Tonga islands are an archipelago east of Australia,
south east of Fiji and north east of New Zealand.

An earthquake in December 2004 off Indonesia caused a
tsunami across the Indian Ocean and 230,000 people were killed
or missing in several countries.