Tonga hit by 7.0 earthquake, tsunami warnings issued but now lifted

The Tonga Meteorological Services told residents in the risk area to evacuate inland to high ground, three-storey solid buildings or tsunami evacuation sites.

• A 7.0-magnitude quake struck near Tonga, prompting tsunami warnings from authorities.
• Residents were advised to evacuate to high ground or solid buildings in risk areas.
• The tsunami threat was later lifted, but mariners were advised to stay in deep water.

A 7.0-magnitude quake struck offshore near Tonga, the US Geological Survey says, with authorities in the Pacific island nation warning of tsunami waves.

The shallow quake hit 79km south-southeast of the village of Pangai overnight NZ time.

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The US tsunami warning system initially said “hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300km of the epicentre along the coasts of Tonga”.

It subsequently revised the assessment, saying “the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed”, but authorities in Tonga issued further warnings.

The Tonga Meteorological Services told residents in the risk area to evacuate inland to high ground, three-storey solid buildings or tsunami evacuation sites.

“Mariners out at sea are advised to move to deep water away from reefs or coasts and remain there until it is safe,” it said on Facebook.

A tsunami warning has been lifted following a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Tonga. Photo / USGS

The tourism ministry published an evacuation map on Facebook for the capital Nukuʻalofa.

Earthquakes are common in Tonga, a low-lying archipelago home to around 100,000 people that straddles the seismic Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire is an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

One New Zealander in Veitongo, Ben Maloney, told RNZ he woke up to his bed shaking.

“The windows were all rattling and the whole house was shaking quite bad,” he said.

- Agence France-Presse