Strong quakes rattle Tonga, PNG -USGS

SINGAPORE, May 28 (Reuters) A strong quake measuring 6.7 in magnitude rocked the South Pacific island nation of Tonga today, the US Geological Survey said.

The New Britain region of Papua New Guinea was also shaken by a 6.2 magnitude quake, the USGS reported. It was unclear whether the tremors had caused any casualties or damage.

It said the Tonga quake hit at 0436 Hrs local time (0336 GMT) 145 km (90 miles) northeast of the capital Nuku'alofa. The tremor was registered at a depth of 50 km (31 miles).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the quake near Papua New Guinea's New Britain island hit at about 0326 GMT today.

''No destructive Pacific-wide tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data,'' the centre said on its Web Site, adding the PNG quake was 6.7 in magnitude.

But the US Geological Survey and Geoscience Australia both registered the quake at 6.2.

Today's quakes followed a quake of similar magnitude which hit Indonesia's main island of Java on Saturday, killing more than 3,000 people.

''We haven't had any reports of damage,'' a Geoscience Australia spokeswoman said.

REUTERS SHB PM1427