PAGER - M 5.8 - TONGA

Alert Version: 2Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 21:28:59 UTCLocation: 15.5° S, 173.8° WDepth: 108kmEvent Id: US2009NLA4Created: 6 hours, 10 minutes after earthquake.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. On September 28, 2006 (UTC), a magnitude 6.9 earthquake 234 km Southeast of this one struck Tonga, with estimated population exposures of 223,000 at intensity IV and 3,000 at intensity III, with no reported fatalities.

Exposure Summary

Estimated Population Exposed to Earthquake Shaking

Est. Modified Mercalli Intensity	Est. Population Exposure	Perceived Shaking	Potential Structure Damage
Est. Modified Mercalli Intensity	Est. Population Exposure	Perceived Shaking	Resistant	Vulnerable
X	0	Extreme	V. Heavy	V. Heavy
IX	0	Violent	Heavy	V. Heavy
VIII	0	Severe	Moderate/Heavy	Heavy
VII	0	Very Strong	Moderate	Moderate/Heavy
VI	0	Strong	Light	Moderate
V	2k	Moderate	V. Light	Light
IV	0	Light	none	none
II-III	74k*	Weak	none	none
I	--*	Not Felt	none	none

*Estimated exposure only includes population within calculated shake map area

Population Exposure
Population per ~1 sq. km. from LandScan

Cities Exposed

MMI	City	Pop.
II	Gataivai	1k
II	Fasitoouta	2k
II	Nofoalii	2k
II	Leulumoega	1k
II	Satapuala	1k
II	Siusega	2k
II	Malie	2k
II	Afenga	2k
II	Vaitele	6k
II	Faleula	3k
II	Lotofaga	1k

Shaking Intensity

Downloads

PAGER results are generally available on the Internet within 30 minutes of the earthquake’s occurrence. However, information on the extent of shaking will be uncertain in the minutes and hours following and earthquake and typically improves as additional sensor data and reported intensities are acquired and incorporated into models of the earthquake's source. Users of PAGER estimates should account for uncertainty and always seek the most current PAGER release for any earthquake.