The USGS reported a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that occurred about 219 kilometers (136.1 miles) west-northwest of Pangai, Tonga.
No settlements are within 100 kilometers (62 miles), but a green alert for shaking-related deaths as well as economic losses has been issued. There were no initial reports of the quake being felt in Tonga or Fiji because of a lack of communication.
USGS Issued a Green Alert
A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in seas off Tonga and the Samoan islands on October 2, 2009, two days after a giant tremor and devastating tsunami killed nearly 150 people.
Tsunami warnings have been canceled. There was no warning from the Pacific Tsunami Center in Hawaii to the Fiji Meteorological Service, according to the agency.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted on January 15th, setting off a tsunami alert, and this is the second significant earthquake to strike the Pacific island since then, as per Independent.
The massive underwater volcanic eruption was a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the United States during World War II.
As a result of the eruption and tsunami, three individuals have been killed: two Tongans, a British woman, and a woman from the United Kingdom.
Ashfall and tsunami have harmed more than 80 percent of the 105,000 residents of Tonga, the administration announced on Monday.
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Devastating Effect of the Earthquake on Residents
In satellite photographs, smoke billowed over Tonga, towering 12 miles above the ocean's surface. Residents in Fiji and New Zealand were allegedly able to hear the rumbling of the volcano.
It is estimated that 62 residents of the isolated Mango island were displaced and have since been transferred to the neighbouring Nomuka island. Three of the worst-hit islands were Mango, Fonoifua, and Atata, according to Daily Mail.
It is estimated that 62 residents of the isolated Mango island were displaced and have since been transferred to the neighbouring Nomuka island. Three of the worst-hit islands were Mango, Fonoifua, and Atata.
Nomuka people may have to return to Tongatapu, the administration has warned, due to a scarcity of food and supplies.
Efforts to Help Affected Residents
Tonga's lone airport, which had been blanketed in a thick layer of ash due to the eruption, has now been cleaned of debris, with planes and ships carrying relief supplies, including freshwater, coming into the area.
In order to adhere to the island's Covid standards of contactless delivery, much of the relief has arrived from New Zealand and Australia. Support for the ravaged country has been pledged by the World Bank, Japan, India, China and the United States of America (USA).
The devastating effects of the tsunami necessitated aid from around the world. To help those in need, New Zealand has donated $3 million of its own money.
As a journalist based in the capital, Nuku'alofa, Mary Fonua believes the earthquake had no effect on her. Tonga has experienced a number of earthquakes of this magnitude in recent years, but she thinks they're not particularly dangerous.
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