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WELLINGTON, May 26, 2024 (AFP) – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake rattled the Pacific nation of Tonga on Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, but there was no threat of a tsunami. The quake struck at 9:47 am local time from a depth of about 112 kilometres (69 miles), according to the USGS, and was centred in a patch of ocean about 198 kilometres (123 miles) north of Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa. There were no immediate […]
WELLINGTON, June 15, 2023 (AFP) – A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific island nation of Tonga on Friday, but no tsunami warning was issued, US monitoring agencies said. The earthquake struck shortly after 7:00 am (1800 GMT Thursday) at a depth of 167 kilometres (103 miles) some 290 kilometres southwest of the capital Nuku’alofa, the United States Geological Survey said. Gary Vite, chief meteorologist at the Tonga Meteorological Services told AFP there were […]
WELLINGTON, May 11, 2023 (AFP) – A 7.6-magnitude earthquake rattled the Pacific island nation of Tonga in the early hours of Thursday but there were no reports of injuries or damage. The quake struck at 1602 GMT about 100 kilometres (60 miles) off Tonga’s remote volcanic island of Niuatoputapu at a depth of 210 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said. There was no tsunami risk, it said. “We had calls early in the morning […]
Sydney, Australia | AFP | A magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck in the sea off Tonga late Friday, according to the US Geological Survey, sparking a tsunami warning that was later lifted. The USGS said the quake hit 10 kilometres (six miles) deep, about 200 kilometres southeast of Neiafu, a town in the northeast of the Pacific archipelago nation, shortly before midnight local time (1100 GMT). It initially gave the magnitude at 7.1, but later revised […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) — A volcano north of Tonga’s main island has erupted eight times in the past 48 hours, according to the Pacific nation’s geological service, which has warned mariners to keep their distance Tuesday. The Home Reef volcano has been erupting for the past 10 days, oozing molten lava and shooting steam and ash at least three kilometers (almost two miles) into the air. Home Reef’s eruption currently poses a low risk to […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) – The Omicron variant coronavirus entered Tonga for the first time in the wake of last month’s volcanic eruption, officials confirmed Thursday, as the number of Covid-19 cases in the kingdom almost doubled to 64. Health Minister Saia Piukala said 31 new cases had been detected in the previous 24 hours, a record for the island nation which was virus-free until last month’s blast. Piukala said samples sent to Australia confirmed the […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) – Volcano-devastated Tonga will close its borders Wednesday after Covid-19 was detected in the previously virus-free Pacific kingdom as it struggles to recover from last month’s deadly disaster, officials said. Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said two men tested positive this week in the capital Nuku’alofa and were in isolation. He said the men had been working in the city’s port, where humanitarian aid has been pouring in from around the globe since the […]
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Tonga at 0640 GMT on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of damage. The epicentre of the strong quake was 219 kilometres (136 miles) northwest of Pangai, a town on the remote island of Lifuka, at a depth of 14.5 kilometres. There were no immediate reports of the quake being felt in Tonga or neighbouring Fiji. The area has seen daily earthquake […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) — A coronavirus-hit Australian warship docked in Tonga on Wednesday, delivering desperately needed aid to the volcano-and-tsunami-struck nation under strict “no-contact” protocols. Tongan Health Minister Saia Piukala said the crew of the HMAS Adelaide would follow drastic health protocols to ensure the remote Pacific kingdom remains one of the few places in the world still free of Covid-19. “The ship will berth and no contacts will be made. Australians from the ship […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) – A Covid-19 outbreak on an Australian warship threatened to disrupt Tonga eruption aid efforts Tuesday, as survivors of the deadly volcanic blast described how they fled with only the clothes on their backs. The January 15 eruption generated huge tsunami waves and blanketed the Pacific kingdom in toxic ash when it obliterated an uninhabited island with explosive forces more powerful than a nuclear bomb. Australia has led international relief efforts, rushing […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) – The Tonga volcanic eruption unleashed explosive forces that dwarfed the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, NASA scientists have said, as survivors on Monday described how the devastating Pacific blast “messed up our brains”. The NASA Earth Observatory said the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano spewed debris as high as 40 kilometres (25 miles) into the atmosphere during the January 15 eruption that triggered huge tsunami waves. “We think the amount of […]
by Carlos MANDUJANO Agence France-Presse LIMA, Peru (AFP) – A Lima zoo is racing to save dozens of seabirds, including protected penguins, left covered in oil after 6,000 barrels of crude spilled off Peru’s coast due to waves from a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific. More than 40 birds, including Humboldt penguins — listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature — were brought to the Parque de Las Leyendas zoo […]
