7.0 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Tonga, Prompting Tsunami Warning​

A big 7.0-magnitude earthquake happened early on March 31, 2025, near the Pacific island nation of Tonga. A report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake happened at 1:18 a.m. local time, 29 kilometers (18 miles) below the surface and 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Tongatapu, the main island. When the quake happened, tsunami warnings went off all over the city, of Nuku’alofa, telling people to get to higher ground. A lot of people went inland or to higher ground until the government said it was safe to go back.

Also read: Strong Earthquake Hits Myanmar, Causing Destruction.

Even though the earthquake was very strong, accounts of damage were only small. For example, things fell off shelves and pictures came loose from walls. There have been no reports of injuries or major damage to buildings. At first, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center sent out an alert about waves that could be dangerous within 300 kilometers (185 miles) of the impact. It was taken down, though, after only small changes in sea level were seen.

The head of Tonga’s disaster management office said that the sea level hadn’t changed much and that everything was still safe. This event took place soon after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 hit Myanmar on March 28, 2025. The earthquake claimed many lives and destroyed a great deal of property in towns including Mandalay and Naypyitaw. Following the earthquake, Bangkok, Thailand had deaths and structural damage as well.

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People who vanished and information on the degree of destruction are still under search among the sites. Tonga is an archipelago of about 170 islands where just over 100,000 people live. It is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a place where earthquakes and volcanoes happen often. In 2022, a wave caused by a volcano eruption killed three people and caused a lot of damage. This showed how natural tragedies could happen in the country. Tonga is in a calm state right now, and people are going about their normal lives. Still, the government is on the lookout for possible aftershocks and telling people to be careful.