At least 189 people died in Tonga and Samoa on tsunami caused by two simultaneous earthquakes of magnitude 8 and 8.1 in September 2009
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific Tonga coast today and a tsunami alert was issued, the United States Geological Service (USGS) announced.
“Dangerous tsunami waves caused by this earthquake are possible within 300 kilometers along the coast of Tonga,” the American tsunami warning system said.
According to the body, the earthquake occurred about 100 kilometers northeast of the main island in the early hours of Monday morning, local time, and at a depth of 10 kilometers below the seabed.
There were no reports of immediately available damage.
Tonga is a Polynesian country formed by 171 islands with a population of about 106,000 people, most of which live on the main island of Tongatapu.
The archipelago is located over 3,500 kilometers from the east coast of Australia.
Tonga is located in the so -called Pacific Fire Ring, one of the most active areas of the planet, where variable intensity tremors occur daily.
The so -called North Lau Basin, located between Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, contains dozens of active craters located between 1,000 and 1,500 meters deep.
At least 189 people died in Tonga and Samoa on Tsunami caused by two simultaneous earthquakes of magnitude 8 and 8.1 in September 2009.
In January 2022, Tonga was devastated by a tsunami triggered by a violent eruption of a submarine volcano with at least three dead. The country was without communications for several days and more than 80% of its population was affected.
