An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 hit the Pacific island of Tonga today at 04:47am local time 1:47am in Tonga).
The earth quake rocked Tonga, catching residents off guard as they prepared themselves for a visit from tropical cyclone, Rene, which is currently a category three cyclone with wind speeds of up to 93 miles an hour.
Thank goodness there was no tsunami alert, immediate reports of damage, or mortality reports following the massive quake which occurred only 60 miles (96 kilometers) away from the nation’s capital, Nuku’alofa.
In September 2009, nine people fell victim to a tsunami which struck the coast of Niuatoputapu, a northern Tongan island. An earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale followed shortly after.
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