Photo: USGS
A 7.5-magnitude earthquake was reported in Tonga on Tuesday (March 24), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was reported 166 kilometers (about 103 miles) west of Neiafu and centered at a depth of 229.5 kilometers (about 143 miles) at 4:37 a.m. UTC. The USGS said it received 16 reports of people having felt the earthquake at the time of publication on Tuesday.
There are currently no tsunami warnings, according to Tsunami.gov. Three aftershocks were reported in the area of Neiafu after the 7.5-magnitude earthquake which included a 4.9-magnitude, a 5.2-magnitude and a 4.6-magnitude.
The 7.5-magnitude earthquake was the largest reported in Tonga this year and among six earthquakes measuring at 1.5-magnitude or greater in the past 24 hours, 16 in the past seven days, 25 in the past 30 days and 173 in the past 365 days, according to EarthquakeTrack.com. Tonga is an archipelago in Polynesia made up of 171 islands with a population estimated to be just over 100,000, many of whom live on Tongatapu, the main island, according to ABC News.
Earthquakes measured between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude can be felt by a large population, however, rarely results in much damage, according to Michigan Tech via the Sacramento Bee. An estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes are reported worldwide annually, however, around 100,000 are felt and only 100 typically result in serious damage.
Officials strongly advise that anyone caught in an earthquake should drop, cover and hold on, according to the Sacramento Bee.