A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Sunday near Tonga, a nation of more than 170 islands in the South Pacific Ocean.

A preliminary 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Tonga late Sunday night does not pose a tsunami threat to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The earthquake hit at a depth of 29km (18 miles) and was around 73km (45 miles) south east of the village of Pangai

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted 79 km SSE of Pangai, Tonga, at 1:18 local time on Monday, the US Geological Survey said.

HONG KONG, March 30 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 jolted 132 km SE of Pangai, Tonga at 12:18:47 GMT on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter, with a depth of 55.0 km, was initially determined to be at 20.60 degrees south latitude and 173.40 degrees west longitude. Enditem

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck in the hours of the Monday morning centred 79 kilometres south-southeast of Pangai in the Ha'apai group of islands.

A tsunami warning was initially issued but has since been lifted.