New quakes shake South Pacific

02 October 2009 | 04:35:59 PM | Source: SBS

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A new powerful earthquake has struck off Samoa and Tonga, but nothing has been felt in the disaster zone (AP

Four more earthquakes have rattled the Pacific today, two days after a tsunami which killed up to 190 people in Samoa and Tonga.

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At 11:07am (AEST) a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck just 85 kilometres south-east of Hihifo in Tonga.

It was followed by two 5.1-magnitude quakes about 175 kilometres off Tonga and a 4.9 magnitude quake, which struck 170 kilometres north-east of Hihifo.

The US Geological Survey says all of the quakes occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage.

Tonga was among the Pacific island nations hit by tsunamis resulting from a massive 8.0 magnitude quake off the coast of Samoa early on Wednesday morning.

SBS reporter Keith Breen, who is reporting from Samoa's south on the earlier disaster, says the latest tremors had not been felt there.

Nine people died in Tonga when Wednesday's quake sparked a series of waves, between three and 7.5 metres high.

Up tp 150 people died in Samoa, and dozens of others in neighbouring American Samoa, when the waves swept homes and people into the sea.

Dozens of aftershocks have rocked the region since the tsunami hit, obliterating villages and tourist resorts.



 

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