Strong quake off Tonga: USGS
NUKU'ALOFA (AFP) – A strong quake with a magnitude of 6.8 hit off the Pacific island nation of Tonga early Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, although there was no threat of a widespread destructive tsunami.
The earthquake struck at 2:47 am (1247 GMT) and was centred 193 kilometres (120 miles) east-northeast of the capital Nuku'alofa at a depth of 62 kilometres, USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said "no destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data".
It said in an information bulletin that quakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts within 100 kilometres of the epicentre.
The quake was followed by an aftershock of 5.6 magnitude.
Nine people died in September when a tsunami hit the northern Tongan island of Niuatoputapu following an 8.0-magnitude earthquake. The tsunami also killed 143 people in Samoa and another 34 in neighbouringAmerican Samoa.
Earthquakes are common in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates in the Earth's crust meet.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091124/wl_asia_afp/quaketonga_20091124151148
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