Nuovo allarme tzunami Nuova Zelanda e Tonga

[marall]

Nuovo allarme tzunami

fonte:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...220616,00.html

Un'altro a distanza di due anni

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Earthquake hits Tonga, tsunami warning issued

LONDON (Reuters) - An earthquake measuring 8.1 hit the Tonga islands, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Web site said on Wednesday and a tsunami warning was issued for Fiji and New Zealand.

The warning said it was not known if a tsunami had been generated by the quake but that any such wave would have hit Suva, Fiji, at 1713 GMT and Gisborne, New Zealand, at 1821 GMT.

"It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation. An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami," said the Pacific Tsunami Center said.

The earthquake was at 4.26 a.m. local time (1526 GMT) and was at 16.1 km (10 miles) depth, said the Web site monitored in London.

A police officer in Tonga told Britain's Sky Television it was the largest tremor for over 20 years but there were no immediate reports of damage. He said electricity went out though later came back.

Another witness told Sky the earthquake was felt in several islands and a resident of Tonga told Sky he felt tremors lasting over 30 seconds.

A warning was also issued for Hawaii in the United States but no destructive threat was seen, according to the Pacific Tsunami Center.

It said some coastal areas in Hawaii could experience small sea-level changes and strong or unusual currents lasting up to several hours beginning at 11:33 a.m. Hawaiian time (2133 GMT).

The earthquake struck 95 miles south of Tonga's Neiafu island and 1340 miles north east of Auckland, New Zealand, USGS said.

The Tonga islands are an archipelago east of Australia, south east of Fiji and north east of New Zealand.

An earthquake in December 2004 off Indonesia caused a tsunami across the Indian Ocean that killed more than 200,000 people in several countries.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

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http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/...kes/usmgas.php