Tsunami threat known 2 hours after earthquake

Officials of the Mineral Resources Department, who are responsible to issue a tsunami warning to the public, only knew of the threat of a tsunami at 7:45am on Wednesday morning, two hours after the earthquake struck off the coast of American Samoa.

This has been confirmed by the Acting Director Mineral Resources Venasio Nasara who also confirms that the Chief Seismologist was working in Yasawa-i-ra on Wednesday and efforts to get through to him on his mobile phone proved futile.

After concerns raised on the delays in issuing the tsunami warning to the people of Fiji by the Fiji Tsunami Working Group Chairman Rajendra Prasad, Venasio stressed that their department does not operate 24 hours, seven days a week like the Nadi Weather Office.

Venesia agreed that Prasad may be right in the current circumstances for calling for the responsibility of issuing a tsunami warning from Mineral Resources to the Meteorology Office.

However, he said there are other situations where his departments’ technical and scientific assessment is very crucial.

Serious concerns have been raised that the tsunami warning bulletin for Fiji citizens was issued almost two hours after the earthquake struck near American Samoa.

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Another earthquake off the coast of Tonga

A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Tonga and Samoa at around 1 o'clock this afternoon, just two days after the giant tremor which caused a devastating tsunami in the region.

No immediate tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and Fiji's Mineral Resource Department's Senior Seismologist, Laisarusa Vuetibau says the quake will not trigger a tsunami.

The quake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, about 242 km off Tonga's northwest island of Neiafu.

Meanwhile, the combined death toll from Wednesday's tsunami which hit Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga is at least 155.

In Samoa, 115 people are confirmed to have died, 31 perished in American Samoa and nine in Tonga.