Fiji earthquake: Pacific islands ROCKED by HUGE 7.8 magnitude earthquake

A HUGE earthquake has struck off the coast of Fiji. The powerful 7.8 magnitude tremor hit 66 miles east of the Fijian capital of Suva at 4.39pm BST (3.49am Friday local time).

The deep earthquake struck 377 miles under the surface, according to data from earthquake monitoring service the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Its depth meant only light shaking was felt on the surface.

A Twitter user who felt the quake said: “It was really strong, strong enough to wake me up at 3.50am in the morning!

“No damage was done, all we felt 20 mins outside of Suva city was a slight swaying of the house with doors creaking. Still safe to travel.”

No tsunami



warnings have been issued following the quake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said: “Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat because the earthquake is located too deep inside the Earth.”

The earthquake was initially registered as an 8.1 magnitude by USGS but was later downgraded to a 7.8.

Fiji sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', a 25,000 mile-long area in which some 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur.

Today’s earthquake in Fiji follows an 8.2 magnitude tremor which struck off the Pacific island nation on August 19.

Just yesterday, Hokkaido in northern Japan was rocked by a 6.7 magnitude quake.