The 2006 Tonga earthquake occurred on 4 May at with a

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

of 8.0 and a maximum

Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...

of VII (very strong). One injury occurred and a non-destructive tsunami was observed.

Earthquake

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a warning 17 minutes after the earthquake for coastal areas around the Pacific. An hour later, the center downgraded the warning to only the region within 600 miles of the epicenter, and an hour after that, it canceled the alert. The earthquake was followed by a pair of large aftershocks the next day.

Damage

The event caused very limited damage. The previous large earthquake in Tonga, in 1977, was of a lower magnitude but resulted in more severe damage. A likely cause is that the 2006 quake generated other frequencies that only resulted in resonance in small items. In shops, cans and bottles fell from shelves. *The century-old Catholic church in Lapaha had new cracks in the tower and several stones fell down, leaving the steeple in a somewhat unstable position. *The tower of a 60-year-old church of the Free church of Tonga in Veitongo collapsed, the steeple came down and several walls cracked beyond repair. *A Korean business man jumped in panic from his second floor hotel room and was hurt in the fall. He was brought to the hospital where he had to wait a long time for any help as power was off and most staff off duty (as that day was a public holiday). *The American wharf in Nukualofa sustained cracks in addition to those caused by the 1977 earthquake. *A ship, sunk in 1949 near Toula, Vavau apparently burst open and its load of

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

came floating to the ocean surface. *A

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

occurred at

Hunga ''Hunga'' is a genus of plants in the family Chrysobalanaceae, described as a genus in 1979. They are native to New Guinea and New Caledonia. List of species # ''Hunga cordata'' Prance - New Caledonia # ''Hunga gerontogea'' (Schltr.) Prance - ...

island in Vavau, when the ground at a steep cliff along the shore began sliding into the sea. *In Haapai, the islands closest to the epicentre, the wharf was damaged and a number of water-pipes and telephone lines were broken. Niuui hospital was damaged.

Tsunami

Since the earthquake occurred underwater,

tsunami warnings A tsunami warning system (TWS) is used to detect tsunamis in advance and issue the warnings to prevent loss of life and damage to property. It is made up of two equally important components: a network of sensors to detect tsunamis and a communica ...

were issued, but then lifted. A small tsunami was observed. Later analysis showed the earthquake to be a slab-tearing event and so less conducive to tsunami generation.

References

External links

Poster of the Tonga Earthquake of 3 May 2006 - Magnitude 7.9
– United States Geological Survey * {{Earthquakes in 2006 2006 Tonga

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Tonga Earthquake, 2006 May 2006 events in Oceania 2006 disasters in Oceania

Earthquake

Damage

Tsunami

See also

References

External links