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Powerful quake rattles Tonga
Nuku'Alofa (AFP) Oct 19, 2008 A powerful earthquake hit near the South Pacific archipelago of Tonga on Sunday, but there was no tsunami alert and no immediate report of injuries, Australian seismologists said. The 6.8-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) and hit east of the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa, Geoscience Australia said. An AFP correspondent said the Tongan capital shook steadily for about two minutes but no tsunami alert was issued for the island nation. Buildings in the business district and along the seafront appeared undamaged following the quake, which hit as many Tongans were at evening church services, the correspondent said. "We've got it at a magnitude 6.8 and very shallow," seismologist Clive Collins told AFP. "There's been some light shaking in Nuku'alofa." The US Geological Survey and the Hong Kong Observatory registered the magnitude at 7.1. Collins said no tsunami alert has been issued for Australia, but added: "We haven't had any other reports of anything from that quake." He said any tsunami generated by the quake would likely have occurred within about 15 minutes of the quake, which hit at about 0510 GMT. "It's not that big an earthquake," he said. "But I add to that it very much depends on local conditions. "It's possible that there's some small islands that might have experienced something... but we probably won't know about it for a long time. "If there was something very large in a large populated area, we probably would have heard of it." The quake occurred near fault lines in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates in the earth's crust meet and earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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6.5 earthquake sparks panic in southern Mexico
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico (AFP) Oct 16, 2008A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico's southern Chiapas state Thursday, near the Guatemalan border, sparking panic in the region, local officials and US scientists said. |
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