AlQa'dah 24, 1432, Oct 22, 2011, SPA - A strong earthquake hit a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean on Friday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The U.S. Geologic Survey said the magnitude-7.6 earthquake hit at 1757 GMT about 870 kilometers south of the island of Tonga. The earthquake struck at a depth of 39 kilometers. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not immediately issue a tsunami alert. The region lies on the “Ring of Fire”-an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones around the Pacific Rim that accounts for about 90 percent of the world's earthquakes.
