Earthquake Of Magnitude 7.1 Strikes Tonga, Tsunami Warning Issued

An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 hit the Tonga Islands on Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The shallow quake hit 90 kilometres (56 miles) southeast of the village of Pangai, with warnings also extending to the island nation of Niue.

The US Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert, cautioning that "tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to 1 meters above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Niue... and Tonga.

It had earlier warned that "hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 kilometres of the epicentre along the coasts of Tonga".

Authorities in Tonga issued a warning to residents to stay away from beaches and shorelines. "People living in the low-lying coastal areas, please move to higher grounds or further inland," the Tonga National Disaster Risk Management Office wrote on Facebook.

As of now, there are no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Tonga is a Polynesian kingdom in the South Pacific, consisting of over 170 islands that boast white sandy beaches, coral reefs, and dense tropical rainforests. It is more than 3,500 kilometers (2,000 miles) off of Australia's east coast.

Earthquakes are common in Tonga, a low-lying archipelago home to around 100,000 people that straddles the seismic Ring of Fire-- an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

This powerful earthquake follows a recent series of seismic activities in the region, highlighting the ongoing geological volatility of the South Pacific area. On Friday, a 7.7 magnitude quake hit Myanmar midday with an epicenter near Mandalay, bringing down scores of buildings and damaging other infrastructure like the city's airport.