Results for Natural events

Nuku‘alofa is experiencing flash flooding of low-lying areas, with water coming inside some homes, after thunderstorms this afternoon dumped almost a month's rainfall over Tongatapu in only seven hours.

A fishing boat was washed on a reef to the east of the Masefield Naval Base, in Nuku'alofa late this afternoon, the victim of a tropical depression that has lashed Tongatapu with strong winds and heavy rain during the past 48 hours.

A Tropical Cyclone Alert has been cancelled for central and southern Tonga as Tropical Cyclone Daman has weakened overnight and is expected to curve southwest away from Tonga today.

An earthquake measuring 6.3, epicentred about 600km south of Tonga this afternoon, was not felt in Tongatapu.

Tropical Cyclone Cliff moving away from Fiji toward the south of Tonga is expected to bring damaging gale force winds to Tongatapu and nearby small islands tonight.

A yacht sailing out of Vava'u motored into a strange "sea of stone" on August 12, and the following day its crew became possibly the first people to witness the birth of a new volcanic island that has been forming in Tonga.

A short but strong earthquake of magnitude 6.1 was felt in Nuku‘alofa at lunchtime today, and shook buildings in the capital for a few seconds.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 was felt throughout Tonga yesterday afternoon, but no damage was reported, while people in Ha'apai who were closest to the epicentre said that shaking had become almost a daily routine since a damaging 7.9 quake on May 4 closed their hospital.

A Strong aftershock was felt in Nuku'alofa yesterday evening rattling the nerves of residents - but this time for only a few seconds. Since the violent 7.9 earthquake at 4.26 am on May 4, 2006, some 20 aftershocks have been recorded by the US Geological Survey in Tonga. The aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 6 are located in the vicinity of the major seismic event on May 4 with an epicentre in Ha'apai.