Magnitude 7.2 quake hits near Fiji; tsunami alert issued

Authorities say a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit near the Fiji Islands, causing a tsunami warning for parts of the pacific near the nation in the south Pacific Ocean.

The US Geological Survey says the earthquake hit a part of the ocean about 227 kilometers southwest of Nadi. The agency says the quake is 10 kilometers deep.

The agency says a tsunami warning has been issued for parts of the Pacific located within 300 kilometers of the quake. But no such warning has been issued for the Hawaiian Islands.

A 2004 quake and tsunami killed a total of 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Aceh, Indonesia.