A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the South Pacific nation of Tonga early Monday morning, triggering tsunami sirens and evacuations across the capital before authorities lifted warnings and reported no immediate casualties.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake hit at 1:18 a.m. local time at a depth of 29 kilometers (18 miles), about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Tonga's main island, Tongatapu. A second earthquake measuring 6.1 followed hours later in the same area.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued an alert shortly after the initial tremor, warning of potentially hazardous waves. The warning was later rescinded after assessments showed no tsunami threat. Tonga's National Emergency Management Office also lifted its local alert by morning.
"There were no reports of casualties and or structural damage," said Mafua Maka, Director of Tonga's National Emergency Management Office, in an interview with Radio New Zealand. Maka added that further damage assessments would be made after sunrise.
Video streamed live by the Tonga Broadcasting Commission showed residents of the capital, Nuku'alofa, moving inland or to higher ground in response to tsunami sirens. The footage captured a calm but swift evacuation in the early morning hours.
"Was hard to stand up," Taekwondo Olympian Pita Taufatofua wrote on Facebook. "Never felt an earthquake go for that long." He described items falling off shelves and pictures shaking off walls during the quake.
Local news outlets reported that communication lines remained intact between the main island and most inhabited islands in the archipelago. Social media users confirmed that calls to outer islands were going through.
The U.S. Geological Survey noted that the region has experienced six aftershocks with magnitudes above 4.5 following the main quake.
Tonga, a nation of around 100,000 people spread across 171 islands, sits atop the Pacific Ring of Fire, a tectonic zone prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The country was devastated by a tsunami in 2022 triggered by an undersea volcanic eruption, which left three people dead and widespread damage to infrastructure.
The Tonga tremor came just days after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, killing nearly 1,700 people and injuring thousands more. "This is not just a disaster; it is a complex humanitarian crisis layered over existing vulnerabilities," Alexander Matheou, Red Cross regional director for Asia Pacific, said Sunday.
