Strong 6.5-magnitude quake strikes off Tonga: USGS

The undersea quake hit 71 kilometres (44 miles) northeast of the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, the USGS said.
Residents reported a "short, very violent" jolt at around 7pm local time (0600 GMT) that knocked items off shelves and sent people fleeing for higher ground, though there was no indication of a tsunami.
"Houses shook violently and people could be heard shouting warnings to each other with babies crying," the Matangi Tonga website said.
"The shaking continued for less than a minute. It is after dark in Tonga where the sun has set."
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert, and the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Seismologists in Tonga confirmed there had been no tsunami warning issued.
Geoscience Australia estimated the tremor as a slightly weaker magnitude 6.3 and said it would have been felt within a wide radius but damage was unlikely.
Tonga sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a region of frequent seismic activity due to collisions between continental plates.
It last experienced a major shake in November, when a shallow 6.4-magnitude event hit 350 kilometres from the capital.
There have been several major earthquake events in the Pacific this month, including two shocks measuring 7.5, a 7.6 and 7.1-magnitude tremor off the Solomon Islands which killed at least two people and prompted tsunami alerts.
AFP