A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Tonga on Thursday, just weeks after the island nation encountered a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The USGS said the strong earthquake struck 7:40 pm local time, about 219 km (136.1 miles)west-northwest of Pangai, Tonga. The earthquake was at a depth of 14.5 km, per US News.
The area was hard-hit in the Hunga-Tonga eruption, with several of the islands seeing all their buildings swept away in the subsequent tsunami.
According to initial reports, no damage was recorded from the strong earthquake. However, communication facilities in the region are still being repaired since an underwater fiber optic cable was severely damaged by the underwater eruption, which sent the majority of Tonga offline.
The National Weather Service nearby American Samoa issued no tsunami warning, indicating minimal damage, per Daily Mail.
Tonga is still struggling from the devastation brought by the Hunga-Tonga volcano's catastrophic eruption on January 14, which generated tsunami waves that destroyed hundreds of structures in the Pacific Island nation.
U.S. Gives More Aid to Tonga
Meanwhile, humanitarian assistance from nations and humanitarian organizations has begun to arrive in Tonga.
The United States has announced that it would donate more funds to help in the recovery efforts.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, per Al Jazeera, the US noted that it would donate an additional $2.5 million in humanitarian aid to Tonga, on top of the initial pledge of $100,000. The fund will be sourced through US Agency for International Development (USAID).
US State Department spokesman Ned Price announced in a statement that in addition to the financial aid, the USS Sampson will be deployed to Tongan waters to help with the relief effort "in support of the Australian Defence Force."
Keeping Tonga COVID-19 Free
Navy ships of New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom have started delivering relief goods and equipment to Tonga. The supplies were delivered without physical contact among personnel to keep Tonga free from the COVID-19 virus.
Since the pandemic's start, Tonga has reported just a single case of COVID-19. It is one of the few countries in the world that has not recorded an outbreak. According to Our World in Data, almost 61% of Tongans are fully vaccinated.
The HMS Spey, a British ship, came with 30,000 liters (7,900 gallons) of bottled water, medical supplies for more than 300 first-aid kits, and essential sanitary goods, according to the British government. It claimed that none of its sailors disembarked and that the goods were instead transported ashore by crane.
The enormous eruption of the underwater Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano affected roughly 84,000 people; three individuals were killed, hundreds of dwellings were destroyed, and the tsunami-damaged water sources, based on reports.
According to NASA, the force of the eruption, seen from space, was five to 10 megatons of TNT or more than 500 times that of the nuclear bomb the US had dropped on Hiroshima in Japan in World War II.
The United Nations identified that Tonga's top humanitarian needs are safe drinking water, food, non-food items, and the restoration of communication facilities, particularly international calls and internet access.
Related Article : Initial Humanitarian Flights Finally Arrive In Tsunami-Hit Tonga; Some Families Relieved As Communication Improves
