Quake prompts tsunami warning for Fiji

CANBERRA - A 6.8 magnitude undersea earthquake rocked outlying Fiji islands yesterday, prompting the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to warn of a possible local tsunami in the southwest Pacific nation.

However Fiji radio said there were no reports of damage or a tsunami by late Tuesday.

A spokesman for Geoscience Australia said the shallow quake was recorded about 250 km north of the Fiji island of Vanua Levu at 3.16am GMT (3.16pm NZT).

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake was unlikely to pose a threat of a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami, but said authorities should be aware of a possible local tsunami within 100 km of the quake's epicentre.

"No destructive Pacific-wide tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," it said.

- REUTERS

* An earlier version of this story said a second earthquake struck nearby soon afterwards. This second reading proved to be incorrect and is believed to have been caused by an equipment glitch.