KUALA LUMPUR — The tsunami warning for Tonga in the Pacific was cancelled after the threat of hazardous waves had passed following a strong earthquake yesterday evening, Reuters reports, citing United States Geological Survey (USGS) data.
The USGS also revised the quake’s initial magnitude of 7.1 to 7.0.
A spokesperson for Tonga’s National Disaster Risk Management Office also told Reuters that there had not yet been reports of damage from the outer islands or the main island of Tongatapu.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake was reported 100 km northeast of Tonga’s main island at 8.18 pm Malaysia time last night, or in the pre-dawn hours in Tonga on Monday.
It triggered a tsunami warning for coasts located within 300 km of the quake’s epicentre.
The USGS in a later update said the quake struck at a depth of 29km and was around 73km south east of the village of Pangai on the island of Lifuka.
Other island countries affected by the earthquake initially were Fiji and Niue. Tonga is more than 3,500 kilometers off of Australia’s east coast.
Tonga is a Polynesian kingdom of more than 170 South Pacific islands, with a population of over 100,000 people, most of whom live on the main island of Tongatapu. – March 31, 2025