A TSUNAMI threat that sparked evacuations in Fiji has now passed after a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the island nation.

The quake hit at a depth of 15 kilometres some 221 kilometres from Nadi and 283 kilometres from the Fijian capital Suva.

“Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300 kilometres of the epicentre along the coasts of Fiji,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said, adding that waves could have been up to one metre above the tide level.

The threat has now passed, according to an update from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

Radio New Zealand reported that people were being evacuated from Nadi after the earthquake. Nadi, on Fiji’s main island, is a city of about 42,000 and a hub for tourism.

Disaster preparedness messages seem to be working. Kudos to the Co.s & people taking this seriously. @FBC_News @VikaWaradi pic.twitter.com/582BHsWWDd — Amrita Priyadarshani (@amritafbc_d) January 3, 2017

The area where the earthquake struck lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a highly active tectonic zone that frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

A warning was not issued for the Hawaiian Islands either.

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