A deep 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck beneath the Pacific in the Fiji region early Friday, US geologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake hit at 7:30 am (1930 GMT Thursday), with its epicentre at a depth of 593 kilometres (368 miles) deep, some 120 kilometres from Ndoi Island in Fiji, and 421 kilometres from the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa, the United States Geological Survey said.
But it did not generate a destructive tsunami, according to an initial report from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
The area lies on the Pacific "ring of fire", a highly active tectonic zone that frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.