Sharp 7.1 magnitude quake rocks Tongan capital

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake has rocked southern Tonga but there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The powerful temblor triggered no tsunami alert from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.

The quake, which occurred shortly after 5 a.m. local time Sunday (1700 GMT Saturday) has been widely felt in the archipelago's southern islands and it rocked the capital, Nuku'alofa, for up to two minutes.

It was centered 94 miles (152 kilometers) southeast of the capital at a depth of 206 miles (33 kilometers) in the South Pacific ocean.

Local residents say unlike previous major quakes it did not knock items off shelves in homes or local shops.

Tonga is near the end of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" _ a line of volcanoes and earthquake fault lines stretching from Chile in South America up through Alaska to Japan and down the western Pacific to New Zealand and Tonga.