Strong 8.2 magnitude earthquake hits Fiji, no tsunami triggered
On Sunday, just after midnight GMT, a strong 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Fiji, said the US Geological Survey. Fortunately, owing to the tremor originating deep below the surface of the Earth, the quake wasn't strong enough to generate a catastrophic tsunami or cause any significant damage to Fiji. Small, non-dangerous tsunami waves were observed, but the situation didn't escalate beyond that.
Details of the earthquake
The tremor struck at 12.19 pm, GMT, 361km east of Fiji's capital Suva, and roughly the same distance from Tonga, at a depth of 559km, said seismologists from the US Geological Survey. Meanwhile, to allay fears of a tsunami, the Hawaii-based US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said that there was "no tsunami" threat anywhere resultant of the earthquake.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre tweets about the quake
Fiji, Hawaii and Tonga had a close shave
Notably, the earthquake occurred in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a region prone to frequent, often catastrophic seismic activity caused collisions between continental plates. Experts said that Fiji, Tonga and Hawaii had a close shave as the earthquake would have caused catastrophic damage and would have triggered a tsunami had it occurred closer to the Earth's surface.
