Great Earthquakes In Diverse Places
Strong 6.0 earthquake hits Tonga
Updated at: 0316 PST, Thursday, November 04, 2010
WELLINGTON: A strong, 6.0-magnitude earthquake rattled Tonga on
Thursday but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami
warning was issued.
The undersea earthquake struck at a depth of 33 kilometres (20 miles)
about 126 kilometres from the capital, Nuku'Alofa. Officials at the
country's national emergency office were not immediately available to
comment.
Tonga, almost 2,000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, lies on the
so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", where continental plates collide
causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.
Nine people died in Tonga in an earthquake-triggered tsunami in October
2009 that also killed 143 people in Samoa.