Quake strikes in the Pacific

A MASSIVE quake of magnitude 8.2 has struck in the Pacific Ocean close to Fiji and Tonga but it was very deep and did not trigger a tsunami, the US Geological Survey and US Tsunami Warning Centre said.

The quake struck at 10.20am AEST yesterday and was 560km below the Earth, which would have limited the shaking at the surface.

The US Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake was too deep to cause a tsunami.

The epicentre was located 270km east of Levuka in Fiji and 443km west of Neiafu in Tonga in the earthquakeprone Ring of Fire.