A powerful magnitude 7.9 quake has struck in the Pacific Ocean, 291 km (180 miles) from Ndoi island of Fiji, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The quake hit at a depth of 570km (354 miles), too deep to cause a tsunami. Its power approaches the strongest deep-focus (over 300km deep) quake on record, the magnitude 8.3 Okhotsk Sea quake of 2013.From HawaiiNewsNow There is no tsunami threat to Hawaii after a strong earthquake in the South Pacific basin.Officials at the National Tsunami Warning Center said the quake struck the Fiji Islands region Saturday afternoon, but no Pacific-wide tsunami threat was generated.It initially registered as a 7.9-magnitude earthquake, but since the original alert, the USGS has upgraded the magnitude of the earthquake to an 8.2.</s>Nuku'alofa: A massive earthquake of magnitude 8.0 has struck in the Pacific Ocean close to Tonga, the US Geological Survey says.

The quake which struck on Sunday morning, is not expected to trigger a tsunami as it is too deep.</s>FIJI - Shortly after 8 p.m. our time Saturday, a massive earthquake was reported near Fiji in the south Pacific Ocean. It was an 8.2 magnitude earthquake that happened in the deep ocean.

Preliminary reports suggest that there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii. Given the depth of this quake, the tsunami threat is considered low elsewhere too.

If this quake were to happen on land and at a shallower depth, the damage would be major.

As of 9:30 p.m. our time Saturday, we have not heard any reports of damage in Fiji. This is a developing story.</s></s>A massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 200 miles off Fiji and almost the same distance from Tonga, according to the preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.

The earthquake struck just after midday Sunday and was almost 560 kilometers deep, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on the data available, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected, and there was no threat to Hawaii. – READ MORE

TANJUNG, Indonesia (AP) — Scientists say the powerful Indonesian earthquake that killed nearly 400 people lifted the island it struck by as much as 25 centimeters (10 inches).

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said on Saturday that 387 people died, jumping from the 321 it reported the previous day, as search and rescue teams continued to sift through the rubble and people already buried by relatives are accounted for.

Using satellite images of Lombok from the days following the Aug. 5 quake, scientists from NASA and the California Institute of Technology’s joint rapid imaging project made a ground deformation map and measured changes in the island’s surface.

In the northwest of the island near the epicenter, the rupturing faultline lifted the earth by a quarter of a meter. In other places it dropped by 5-15 centimeters (2-6 inches). – READ MORE</s>Nuku'alofa: A massive earthquake of magnitude 8.0 has struck in the Pacific Ocean close to Tonga, the US Geological Survey says.

The quake which struck on Sunday morning, is not expected to trigger a tsunami as it is too deep.</s>Much like Typhoon Shanshan approaching Tokyo wound up being nothing more than a solid rainstorm before the Pan Pac Championships, a massive earthquake off the coast of Fiji isn’t expected to interfere with the Jr. Pan Pac Championships either.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 8.2 earthquake shook the floor of the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, just as the American team was arriving for the meet. Experts believe, however, that it was too deep to cause any damage.

“I would not expect any damage. People will feel it but it’s so deep that I would not expect any damage,” USGS geophysicist Jana Pursley told Reuters.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Tweeted out that while the earthquake is causing tsunami waves, they are not considered dangerous, in spite of the earthquake’s proximity to Suva, where the meet is being held.

An earthquake of magnitude 8.2 on the Richter Scale is extremely rare. According to the USGS, there have only been 11 earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 8.0 in the last 11 years. It is also the highest-magnitude earthquake recorded so far in 2018. The earthquake that caused the 2011 tsunami that devestated Japan was measured at 9.0.</s>(CNN) -- A massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 200 miles off Fiji and almost the same distance from Tonga, according to the preliminary report from the US Geological Survey.

The earthquake struck just after midday Sunday and was almost 560 kilometers deep, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on the data available, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected, and there was no threat to Hawaii.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.</s>The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii following a 8.2 magnitude earthquake this afternoon near Fiji.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii following a 8.2 magnitude earthquake this afternoon near Fiji.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at a depth of 348 miles and was located 174 miles northeast of Fiji’s Ndoi Island. No casualties are expected based on initial readings.

Small tsunami waves have been observed but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected based on available data.</s>A massive quake of magnitude 8.2 struck in the Pacific Ocean close to Fiji and Tonga on Sunday but it was so deep that it was not expected to cause any damage, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center also said the quake was too deep to cause a tsunami.

The quake was 347.7 miles (560 km) below the Earth which would have dampened the shaking at the surface.

'I would not expect any damage. People will feel it but it's so deep that I would not expect any damage,' USGS geophysicist Jana Pursley said by telephone.

The quake was initially reported as a magnitude 8.0 and then upgraded to 8.2, a magnitude that could cause tremendous damage had it not been so deep.

The epicenter was located 167 miles (270 km) east of Levuka in Fiji and 275 miles (443 km) west of Neiafu in Tonga.

The area is located on the earthquake-prone Ring of Fire.
A deep-focus earthquake of magnitude 8.2 (the strongest recorded in 2018) strikes the South Pacific Ocean near Fiji. No threat of tsunami is immediately detected.