Tonga’s Met Service has issued a ‘Tsunami Information Statement’ in response to Tibet’s deadly earthquake.
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck near the border of Tibet and Nepal on Tuesday morning, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said, killing people, damaging buildings and sending people running to the streets in Tibet, Nepal and India.
At least 53 people died and “many buildings” had collapsed, Chinese state media reported.
The quake was centred close to the city of Shigatse, one of Tibet’s holiest cities, in Dingri county, and struck at 9:05 am (0105 GMT) on Tuesday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre. The US Geological Survey reported the quake as magnitude 7.1.
The official Xinhua News Agency said 62 other people were injured in the quake on Tuesday, citing the regional disaster relief headquarters, as dozens of aftershocks shook the region of western China and the neighbouring state of Nepal.
The quake had an epicentre depth of 10km, the report added, revising the magnitude from an earlier 6.9.
Tonga Met statement
As a precautionary measure, Tonga Met Service issued a statement detailing the location, duration and timeframe of the Nepal earthquake.
It clearly said in Tongan that it provided the statement for the people’s information and for them to know about the disaster.
However, some commenters on the Service’s Facebook have expressed concerns about the relevance of such alerts, given that Tonga is far from the epicentre.
“Why are you putting out a Tsunami alert for an earthquake so far away?” a commenter wrote.
“Be prepared”, a responder replied.
“I think you’re trying to copy …… maybe focus on Tonga only before you set off the panic button”, another wrote.
“I am puzzled as to why you are putting this info. Here for us in Tonga? Pretty irrelevant considering”, one wrote.
A commenter reminded others about the significant impact of Tonga’s devastating tsunami in 2022, noting that the waves generated by the disaster travelled thousands of miles, reaching even as far as the Arctic region near the North Pole.
Nebal
According to Google Maps, the distance from Nepal to Tonga is 12,109 kilometres, which is approximately 7,524 miles when converted to air travel distance.
Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia, located in the Himalayas.
It shares its northern border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and is surrounded by India to the south, east, and west.
The country is also narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim.
