WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - A warning of a possible tsunami in the South Pacific was issued after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake was registered about 130 miles (209 km) southeast of Nuku'alofa, Tonga, the U.S National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said on Thursday.
"It is not known that a tsunami was generated," the center said. "An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami," it added.
The quake occurred at 1818 GMT at a depth of of 6.2 miles (10 km), the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
A local resident searches for recyclable objects amid the debris of buildings which collapsed during the May earthquake last year in Hanwang, Sichuan province March 8, 2009. A government investigation found ...
