Magnitude-8.0 Quake Strikes Near Tonga

[phantom power]

Magnitude-8.0 Quake Strikes Near Tonga

A magnitude-8.0 earthquake struck early Thursday near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, the
U.S. Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning was issued for Fiji and New Zealand.
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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.

The U.S. Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center issued the tsunami warning but said it was not known whether the quake generated a potentially deadly giant wave.

[TheDebbieDee]

1. Thanks for including the map..........

I had no idea where Tonga was.

I learn so much here at DU!

[Warpy]

2. It depends on what that quake did

and, since it's at the edge of a continental shelf, it could have caused an undersea lanslide like the quake of December, 2004. That means its energy could be directed eastward, not to the west.

Or it may do nothing, like 99.99% of deep sea quakes.

[Oversea Visitor]

3. Lets pray no tsunami

Too many Islands around :(

[anoraksia53]

4. And 8 hours earlier in Vanuatu

there was a 5.3 quake: More info here.
The Tonga quake might have been even worse if it hadn't been for the earlier quake in the region.

[phantom power]

5. Evidently it did produce a small, uneventful tsunami

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - A powerful earthquake struck early Thursday near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, prompting tsunami warnings for as far away as Fiji and New Zealand. But the warning never reached Tonga — and was lifted after a tsunami of less than 2 feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060503/ap_on_re_au_an/tonga_earthquake