Tonga

Tonga:

Nuku'alofa (AFP) - A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.8 repulsed the Pacific island nation of Tonga early Wednesday, the U. S. Geological Survey said that although there is no threat of a widespread destructive tsunami.

The earthquake occurred at 2:47 (1247 GMT) and was centered 193 kilometers (120 miles) east-northeast of the capital Nuku'alofa to a depth of 62 kilometer, the USGS reported. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said "no destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data."

He said in a newsletter that earthquakes of this size sometimes local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts within 100 kilometer of the epicenter.

The earthquake was followed by an aftershock of magnitude 5.6.

Nine people were slain in September, when a tsunami the northern island of Tonga Niuatoputapu after a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. The tsunami also killed 143 people in Samoa and another 34 in neighboring American Samoa.

Earthquakes are common in the "Ring of Fire" where continental plates meet in the crust.