Today's Edition
(DPA)
A very strong, but deep, earthquake struck off the island state of Tonga in the South Pacific on Tuesday afternoon.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre of the 7.5-magnitude earthquake at 5:37 pm (0437 GMT) was 166 kilometres west of Neiafu, Tonga's second-largest town, at a depth of 229 kilometres. USGS had initially put the magnitude at 7.6.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, which is part of the US weather agency NOAA, said there was no risk of tsunami.
No damage was initially reported. Tonga is located about 5,200 kilometres east of Australia.
