7.0-magnitude quake triggers brief tsunami alert in Tonga

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the Pacific island nation of Tonga early Monday morning, prompting the government to issue a brief tsunami alert and advise residents to evacuate.

The quake jolted 73 km southeast of Pangai, which is in the Ha'apai group of islands in Tonga, at 01:18 local time on Monday, with a depth of 29 km, according to the latest data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The Tonga National Disaster Risk Management Office (NDRMO) and the Tonga Meteorological Service then issued a tsunami warning for all coastal areas of the archipelago.

Videos from locals showed that many residents were driving overnight towards higher ground and inland areas for safety.

Qianqian, a resident in Nuku'alofa, shared her experience evacuating late at night in a video taken from her vehicle using a mobile phone.

"I live by the sea. The tremors were extremely strong. The cabinets kept shaking. The air raid sirens kept blaring for a long time. It is said to be a tsunami warning. We are now evacuating to higher ground at the government's request," she said.

Tonga's National Disaster Risk Management Office (NDRMO) said no damage was reported for all areas after the quake.

Tonga is made up of 173 islands with a population of just over 100,000 people, most of whom live on the main island of Tongatapu, which is about 100 km away from the epicenter.

7.0-magnitude quake triggers brief tsunami alert in Tonga

7.0-magnitude quake triggers brief tsunami alert in Tonga

7.0-magnitude quake triggers brief tsunami alert in Tonga

7.0-magnitude quake triggers brief tsunami alert in Tonga

China's express delivery sector continued to post significant growth in the first 11 months of 2025, handling over 180 billion parcels to record a nearly 15 percent year-on-year increase, official data showed on Tuesday.

According to the State Post Bureau, the country's China's broader postal industry, which includes express delivery services, saw a total of 196.75 billion parcels from January through November, marking a 12.9 percent rise from the same period in 2024.

The postal industry's total business revenue exceeded 1.63 trillion yuan (over 230 billion U.S. dollars), up 6.7 percent year on year, the data showed.

Specifically, the overall express delivery revenue reached nearly 1.36 trillion yuan, a 7.1 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Same-city express deliveries amounted to 14.47 billion parcels, a 2.2 percent year-on-year increase, while cross-region deliveries surged by 16.3 percent to 162.44 billion parcels.

The total volume of express deliveries to overseas countries and China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions reached 3.83 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 11.3 percent.

In November alone, China's postal industry handled 19.49 billion parcels, up 3.8 percent year on year. Among these, more than 18 billion parcels were handled in express delivery sector, up 5 percent year on year.

In November, the postal industry's business revenue, excluding the direct business revenue of Postal Savings Bank, reached 162.68 billion yuan (over 23 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year decrease of 2.0 percent.

Specifically, express delivery revenue reached 137.65 billion yuan (around 19.5 billion U.S. dollars), showing a year-on-year decrease of 3.7 percent.

China's express delivery sector posts double-digit growth in first 11 months