8.0 Quake Hits Pacific, Tsunami Waring Cancelled
Reports from Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, suggested heavy shaking and some potential damage to property.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) had initially warned that a tsunami wave could hit Suva, Fiji, as early as 5:13 a.m. local time, before affecting New Zealand's coastal cities in the following hours.
That warning was later withdrawn, although the PTWC, based in Hawaii, did warn that "danger to boats and coastal structures can continue for several hours due to rapid currents."
David Applegate, of the U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was "a large event and does have the potential for a tsunami."
Tonga, a 170-island archipelago about halfway between Australia and Tahiti, has a population of about 108,000 and an economy dependent on pumpkin and vanilla exports, fishing, foreign aid and remittances from Tongans abroad.
Fiji, a South Pacific country made up of more than 300 islands, a third of which are inhabited, is regularly rattled by earthquakes, but few cause any damage or casualties.
A tsunami watch was issued for all other areas of the Pacific basin except for Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California.
In Dec. 2004, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off Indonesia caused a tsunami across the Indian Ocean that killed more than 200,000 people in several countries.