A strong earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, hit the Tonga Islands at 8.46 am Tuesday, reported the Malaysian Meteorological Department.
In a statement the department said that the epicentre of the quake was 931 km northeast of Laucala Island, Fiji, and 7,816 km southeast of Semporna, Sabah, according to Malaysia's (Bernama) News Agency.
The quake did not pose any tsunami threat, the statement added.