Phivolcs says no tsunami threat on PH after 7.3 quake in Tonga

Phivolcs says there is "no destructive tsunami threat" to the Philippines after a magnitude 7.3 quake in Tonga. Screenshot from Phivolcs website

MANILA — Phivolcs said on Sunday night that there is no tsunami threat on the Philippines after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake was recorded in the nation of Tonga in the Pacific.

"Hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 kilometers of the earthquake epicenter," Phivolcs said in its official report.

The quake had a 59 kilometer depth but has "no destructive tsunami threat" to the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey has issued a tsunami warning on the said Pacific island nation.

The shallow quake hit 90 kilometres (56 miles) southeast of the village of Pangai, with warnings also extending to the island nation of Niue.

"Tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to 1 meters above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Niue... and Tonga," the US tsunami warning system said.

It had earlier warned that "hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 kilometers of the epicenter along the coasts of Tonga".

The Tonga national disaster agency issued a warning to residents to stay away from beaches and shorelines.

"People living on the low lying coast areas please move to higher grounds or further in land," the Tonga National Disaster Risk Management Office wrote on Facebook.

Earthquakes are common in Tonga, a low-lying archipelago home to around 100,000 people that straddles the seismic Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire is an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

 —With reports from the Agence France-Presse