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Strong quake hits off Samoa, Tonga: USGS

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WELLINGTON — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific island nations of Tonga and Samoa on Friday, seismologists said, but the shallow tremor did not trigger a tsunami alert.

Published: Fri 23 Sep 2011, 12:10 PM

Updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 1:55 AM

  • By
  • (AFP)

The undersea quake hit at a depth of eight kilometres (five miles), some 355 kilometres from the Samoan capital Apia, at 12:07pm Friday (2307 Thursday GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

The epicentre was 415 kilometres from the Tongan town of Neiafu, the USGS said.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake had not generated a destructive tsunami.

Earthquakes are common on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where continental plates in the Earth’s crust meet.



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