An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale jolted Pagan region, Northern Mariana Islands at 00:32:24 GMT on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 566.30 km, was initially determined to be at 18.8180 degrees north latitude and 145.3820 degrees east longitude.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Observatory reported the quake at 6.5- magnitude.