Moderate quake strikes off northern Tonga: USGS

A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 struck near northern Tonga on Thursday, seismologists said.

A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 struck near northern Tonga on Thursday, seismologists said.

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There were no early reports of damage after the earthquake hit at 12:56 pm (2356 GMT Wednesday).

The quake was centred 50 kilometres (31 miles) northeast of the Tongan island of Niuatoputapu at a depth of 10 kilometres, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Nine people died late last month on Niuatoputapu in a tsunami triggered by an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. The tsunami also killed 143 people in Samoa and another 34 in neighbouring American Samoa.