Bangkok, Thailand +Tsunami Warning+ The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-8.1 earthquake has struck near the South Pacific nation of Tonga. A tsunami warning has been issued.
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U/D: 14:04
New Zealand authorities say that the tsunami threat has passed.
U/D: 17:37
Tonga’s tsunami warning system failed, an official said.
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck early Thursday near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A warning said it was possible a tsunami could hit Fiji and New Zealand within minutes.
A Tongan police officer in the capital, Nuku’alofa, said there were no immediate reports of damage or a tsunami.
The temblor, classified by the USGS as a “great” quake, struck 95 miles south of Neiafu, Tonga, and 1,340 miles north-northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. It occurred 20 miles beneath the sea floor.
The U.S. National Weather Service warned that a tsunami could strike Fiji as soon as 1:13 p.m. EDT Wednesday and New Zealand by 2:21 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was not known whether the quake generated a potentially deadly giant wave. It issued the warning for Tonga, Niue, American Samoa, Samoa, Wallis-Futuna, Fiji.
A tsunami advisory was issued for Hawaii, but the warning center said the earthquake, based on historical records, was not sufficient to generate a tsunami damaging to the Pacific coasts of the United States and Canada, and Alaska. Some areas may experience small sea-level changes.
Tonga — a 170-island archipelago about halfway between Australia and Tahiti — has a population of about 108,000 and an economy dependent on pumpkin and vanilla exports, fishing, foreign aid and remittances from Tongans abroad.
It is ruled by 87-year-old King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, who is ailing.
On Dec. 26, 2004, the most powerful earthquake in four decades — magnitude 9.0 — ripped apart the Indian Ocean floor off Indonesia’s Sumatra island, displacing millions of tons of water and spawning giant waves that sped off in all directions.
The tsunami left at least 216,000 people dead or missing in a dozen nations.
Fiji, a South Pacific country made up of more than 300 islands, a third of which are inhabited, is regularly rattled by earthquakes, but few cause any damage or casualties.
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so if you are in Hawaii(me jealous) continue your vacation
p.s. don’t forget to send me some pics when u come home