In the early hours of Thursday, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook the Pacific island country of Tonga, although there were no reports of casualties or property damage.

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake hit around 1602 GMT at a depth of 210 km, roughly 100 kilometres (60 miles) off the isolated volcano island of Niuatoputapu in Tonga.

It said that there was no tsunami risk.

“We had calls early in the morning from people who felt it, but there have been no reports of damage,” said Gary Vite, chief meteorologist at Tonga Meteorological Services near the capital Nuku’alofa.

The quake was also felt some 360 kilometres from the epicentre in the Samoan capital Apia.

A spokesman for the Samoa Meteorological Service said “strong vibrations” shook the office near Apia but there had been no reports of damage.

Tonga and Samoa sit on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates often shift, frequently experiencing seismic activity.

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