Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Large 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake hit TONGA REGION - 135 km (85 miles) ENE of NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 02:47:14 AM at epicenter

Update time = Tue Nov 24 14:38:39 UTC 2009



MAG
UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s

LAT
deg

LON
deg

DEPTH
km

 Region
MAP
 5.1  
2009/11/24 13:32:09
 -20.325
 -173.956
10.0
 TONGA
MAP
 5.6  
2009/11/24 13:04:24
 -20.629
 -174.097
10.0
 TONGA
MAP
 6.8  
2009/11/24 12:47:15
 -20.641
 -174.068
10.0
 TONGA

Nuclear facilities:
There are no nuclear facilities nearby the epicenter.
Airport(s):
Location
Airport
ICAO
Type
Distance
Tonga
Haapai Airport
NFTL

87.36 km

Location
20.641°S, 174.068°W
Depth
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region
TONGA
Distances
135 km (85 miles) ENE of NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga
220 km (135 miles) S of Neiafu, Tonga
480 km (300 miles) E of Ndoi Island, Fiji
2100 km (1300 miles) NE of Auckland, New Zealand

RELATED:

Nov. 24, 2009, 8:22AM

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga — A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific island nation of Tonga, sending panicked residents into the streets at night, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported shortly after the quake struck at 3:32 a.m. (1332 GMT, 8:32 a.m. EST) that there was no threat of a destructive widespread tsunami, although waves were possible within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of the epicenter.

"There's no indication of damage right now in this area," said Faleo Vico, the duty Weather Office staffer in the capital, Nuku'alofa, 120 miles (195 kilometers) southwest of the epicenter.

Residents in the capital said their homes rattled, and the tremors set off frantic barking of dogs.

In the town of Ha'apai, on an island 185 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of the capital, resident Lano Fonua said the quake was strong and lasted about 45 seconds.

"Many people went out into the streets as the quake was shaking the area quite a bit. It was really going," he said. "We don't have any reports of major damage here in the center of town."

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was 6.8-magnitude and was generated from a depth of 38 miles (62 kilometers) in the ocean.

On Sept. 29, a tsunami spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake killed 34 people in American Samoa, 183 in Samoa and nine in Tonga.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6736717.html


Undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga
http://www.metro.co.uk/galleryDetailPage.html?in_gallery_id=2137&in_page_id=3&in_image_id=26187&in_category_id=1679