Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Fiji cancel Tsunani alert but remain vigilant for the next 24 hours

Posted at 23:32 on 03 May, 2006 UTC

The Tsunami alert has been cancelled in Fiji, but the country will remain vigilant for the next 24-hours.

An earthquake measuring seven-point-eight on the Richter scale hit just off the coast of Tonga in the early hours of the morning, prompting the Tsunami Pacific Centre in Hawaii to issue alerts around the Pacific region including New Zealand.

However, the alerts have now been cancelled but Fiji Seismologist, Milesh Kumar Jit, says they will continue to monitor the situation very closely.

“The next step we’re going to do now is to monitor the earthquake in Tonga, and if there’s any aftershock warning then we’ll reinforce the warning, but as of now the warning has been cancelled and it’s safe.”

Milesh Kumar Jit, says while Fiji is not experiencing any after shocks at the moment, he’s in no doubt that Tonga will be affected.