A major undersea earthquake struck in the vicinity of Fiji and Tonga this morning.
Friday, 16th September 2011
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 120 km south-south-west of Ndoi Island (Fiji), 425 km west of NukuAlofa (Tonga) at 7:31 this morning, New Zealand time. The quake was 626 km deep according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued one bulletin for the event. Reporting the quake as magnitude 7.4 at a depth of 612 km, it advised that, based on earthquake and historical data, a destructive tsunami was not generated.
[click for larger image] The earthquake left a strong trace on New Zealand’s seismograph network.
[click for larger image] GeoNet’s seismometers recorded MM4 shaking from Auckland to Wellington as a result of the quake. At those locations, the earthquake may have been felt indoors and crockery may have rattled.
[Compiled from data supplied by GeoNet, the U.S. Geological Survey and its contributing agencies; and the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.]