Quake shakes Tonga
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NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga — All Church members and missionaries are safe following a 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck 95 miles south of the Tongan Islands and 1,340 miles north-northeast of Auckland, New Zealand on May 3.
There were no reports of serious damage or injuries on Tonga. No Church property was damaged during the earthquake, which caused power and telephone outages on the island nation, according to a Church welfare report.
Clint Gurney, the Church director of temporal affairs for the Pacific Islands Area, was on-site in Tonga after the quake to make assessments.
"One brother said the quake felt like a train rumbling by at close range and lasted for about one minute," said public affairs missionary Elder Garwood Walton.
A tsunami warning was issued from Hawaii, but authorities lifted the warnings within two hours, after recording a wave of less than 2 feet.
