Earthquake in Tonga Island: Strong Quake of Magnitude 7.6 Hits Neiafu

An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck Neiafu, a town in Vavaʻu, Tonga, on Tuesday, March 24, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The centre point of the quake is at a depth of over 237 kilometres. 

The strong quake was felt at 153 kilometres West of Neiafu, Tonga, an archipelago of 171 islands in the South Pacific. The earthquake occurred at around 4:37 (UTC) at a depth of 237.5 km, according to USGS data. Epicentre location corrected by 47 km (29 mi) towards WNW.

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A second report from France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) listed the quake at magnitude 6.9. Other agencies reporting the same quake include the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at magnitude 7.4, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 7.1.

Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicentre. It might have caused light to moderate damage. Moderate shaking probably occurred in Longomapu, located 145 km from the epicentre, Neiafu  153 km away, Leimatu'a 154 km away, Fangale'ounga 165 km away, and Pangai 168 km away.