An earthquake of magnitude 7.3 shook waters near Tonga in the Pacific on Friday, and issued a tsunami alert that has already been lifted.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had warned of the risk of a tsunami after the US Geological Service, which records global seismic activity, reported an earthquake of magnitude 7 ,3 with the hypocenter at a depth of 10 kilometers 207.8 kilometers east of Neiafu, the country's second largest city, at 10:48 GMT.
Tonga, whose authorities have not warned of damage, sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity in which some 7,000 earthquakes are recorded each year, most of them moderate.
In mid-January, Tonga was devastated by a tsunami caused by a violent eruption of an underwater volcano, which left the country cut off for several days and affected more than 80% of its population of around 100,000 inhabitants.
