Tsunami warnings for New Zealand, Fiji and the rest of the Pacific have been cancelled following a massive 8.0 quake in Tonga, US tsunami monitors said Wednesday. “The tsunami warning has been cancelled for the entire Pacific region,” said geophysicist Vindel Hsu of the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. “There is no danger at this moment,” he added.
The tsunami center had issued a tsunami warning for New Zealand and the islands of Fiji and also issued a tsunami alert for the rest of the Pacific Ocean following the temblor that struck at 4:26 am local time Thursday (1526 GMT Wednesday).
But apart from a small tsunami generated off the Pacific islands of Niue and Pago Pago, a local wave measuring just half meter (1.65 foot) detected near the quake’s epicenter, no tsunami activity was recorded, Hsu said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake measured a magnitude 8.0 on its scale. The Pacific Tsunami center originally said it was an 8.0 on its separate scale but later downgraded this to 7.8.
Source: Agence France-Presse
