Quake hits South Pacific near Fiji, no damage

The temblor hit at 3.43 pm about 100 kilometres north-northeast of the remote Fijian island of Ndoi.

Published on: Jan 3, 2006, 09:56:00 IST

PTI | By Anonymous, Suva (Fiji)

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A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit deep under the South Pacific near Fiji on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey reported.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, and the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said it did not expect the quake, which happened 579 kilometres below the Earth's surface, to trigger a damaging Pacific-wide tsunami.

The temblor hit at 3.43 pm about 100 kilometres north-northeast of the remote Fijian island of Ndoi, the USGS said.

Lasarusa Veutibau, a seismologist at Fiji's Mines and Resources Department, said the quake was too deep to have been felt anywhere in the Fiji islands.

Fiji is regularly hit by earthquakes as its 332 islands -- about 110 of which are inhabited -- sit in an active seismic area in the South Pacific.

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