5.7 Earthquake epicentre near Vava'u [1]
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 - 16:30. Updated on Friday, May 9, 2014 - 15:54.
A strong earthquake magnitude 5.7 shook Tonga this afternoon, centred 80km west of Neiafu, and felt in the capital Nuku'alofa but no damage has been reported at present.
Residents of Neiafu, said their houses shook strongly but there was no damage, and people at the Vava'u airport also said they felt the shake but were not aware of any damage.
The quake was felt in the capital, Nuku'alofa 275 km away from the epicentre, where it shook buildings and furniture but no damage was reported.
The quake Magnitude 5.7 occured at 2:22 p.m. local time at the epicentre (01:22:11 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal Time) according to a Preliminary Earthquake Report from the U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center, World Data Center for Seismology, in Denver, USA.
The quake epicentre was located at 18.73S 174.72W, at a depth of 140.8 kilometers. This is located 80 km (50 miles) W of Neiafu, Tonga,
or 275 km (170 miles) NNE of Nuku'alofa, Tonga,
or 325 km (200 miles) SSW of Hihifo, Tonga,
or 2250 km (1400 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand.
Tonga, which is located on a major tectonic boundary has historically had many earthquakes of this magnitude in the last 15 years.