One man hurt as great earthquake 8.0 shakes awake Tonga [1]
Thursday, May 4, 2006 - 13:00. Updated on Friday, May 20, 2016 - 18:16.
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Photos by Mary Lyn Fonua
Tongans were shaken awake early this morning as a Magnitude 8.0 earthquake possibly Tonga's largest on record, shook the capital, where one terrified hotel guest was hospitalised after jumping off his second floor hotel balcony during the quake.
The man, Song Sanghoom (42) a Korean businessman, was staying at the Pacific Royale Hotel, in central Nuku'alofa when the quake struck at 4:26 local time. He was taken to Vaiola Hospital with injuries.
The magnitude 8.0 event lasted for 5 seconds and was immediately followed by a 7.9 magnitude event, which shook buildings for over a minute, causing stock to fall from supermarket shelves, glass to break and bookshelves to tumble. Electrical flashes from power poles were seen before the electrical power grid shut down in the middle of the quake leaving frightened residents in the dark.
There was another Magnitude 5.4 aftershock at 6:56 am, and another of Magnitude 5.1 at 8:28 am. with their epicenters east of Ha'apai according to early US Geological survey reports.
Apart from a few broken windows no structural damage was evident in the capital from preliminary assessments made by Tonga's National Office for Disaster (NOD), who were this morning still trying to contact the small outer islands of the Ha'apai group that were located close to the epicenter at 20.035 oS and 174.227 oW or 160km NE of Nuku'alofa, to the east of the Ha'apai islands.
"We have contacted the police in Pangai by telephone and there is no structural damage or wave there, but we have not heard from the outer islands yet," said Maliu Takai, the deputy director of the NOD. "We do not have radio telephone or satellite phones for these areas - only the telephone, which can't get through," he said. "The defence services have HS radio fro Vava'u, but not for the smaller islands."
Tsunami warning
A tsunami warning for Tonga and the South Pacific was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, who said that sea level readings indicated that a tsunami was generated as a result of the Tonga quake, but this warning was later downgraded. Early news media reports said a half metre wave had been recorded in Niue.
Stock damage
In Tonga, May 4 is a public holiday in Tonga for the birthday of the Crown Prince Tupouto'a, but it has become a cleanup day for staff at supermarkets and Fale Koloas. Insurance agents were out before dawn, photographing the stock damage. At Molisi Tonga Ltd. a large supermarket in central Nuku'alofa, 'Ainise Sevele was supervising a clean-up, where liquor, and mustard, were running on the floor with golden syrup, soy sauce and shampoos. 'Ainisi was concerned because she had been unable to make contact with her daughter the supermarket manager, Maliana Sevele, who is staying in Uoleva, Ha'apai, with her family.
Guests staying at the International Dateline Hotel were evacuated to the pool area after the earthquake, said the hotel's general manager Lucy Niu. "There was no damage, we have about 40 guests, mainly Australians, but they were alright and were allowed back to their rooms later."
Staff at the Pacific Royale Hotel said a Korean guest was taken to the hospital but they were not on duty when he was injured.
Earthquakes over Magnitude 8 are rare, and worldwide average only one per year, with only six quakes worldwide of this size since 2000.
A seismologist's report on the Tonga quake can be seen at the USGS website.