Summary
The United States Geological Survey assigned the quake a preliminary magnitude estimate of 7.8 on the Moment magnitude scale, which was later increased to 8.0, and at the end settled on 7.9. The earthquake had its epicenter 165 km south of Neiafu, Tonga, or 2145 km northnortheast of Auckland, New Zealand. Since the earthquake occurred underwater, tsunami warnings were issued, but then lifted. Small, barely noticed aftershocks occurred at 06:56 and 08:28. In addition, the next night, around local midnight, an aftershock of magnitude 6. Such a relatively strong shock after such a long time is a quite exceptional occurrence. On the other hand, earthquakes happen so regularly in this area that the distinction between aftershock and next shock may blur.
CNN initially reported that the quake was believed to have been 8.0 on the Richter scale, but as news from Fiji continued, the measurement changed to 7.8 on the Richter scale. CNN and BBC reports showed that the town of Gisborne, New Zealand was being evacuated. Civil Defence in New Zealand had issued no statements, and there was no information inside New Zealand about Gisborne being evacuated. As people started receiving phone calls from friends and family in the United States and Britain, they did not know what to do. No tsunami alert sirens could be heard, nor was there any information on what to do, so people naturally assumed the worst. Many people headed inland, towards higher ground, only to find out minutes later that the alert had been cancelled. No one died from this, but there were a couple of injuries.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Tonga Earthquake
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