Although the tsunami warnings were withdrawn within two hours, in the New Zealand coastal town of Gisborne, more than 2,200 kilometres (1,375 miles) from the epicentre, hundreds of people fled their homes and headed for nearby hills.

"Most of the coastal communities in Gisborne evacuated," regional civil defence controller Richard Steele told National Radio.

"Things got a bit out of control."

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said a "great" quake, initially measured at magnitude 8.0, struck at 4:26 am local time (1526 GMT) in the middle of the islands that make up Tonga.

The epicentre was recorded 160 km (100 miles) northeast of Tonga's main island of Nuku'Alofa and 16 kilometers (10 miles) below the Earth's surface, a relatively shallow distance which increases the likelihood of a tsunami.

It was the largest earthquake recorded by the USGS since a 8.6 temblor off the Indonesian island of Sumatra in March 2005, and immediately sparked fears of a repeat of the Asian tsunami which killed 220,000 people in December 2004.

But despite its ferocity there were few reports of injury or damage in Tonga, although a hotel guest hurt his leg when he jumped from a third-floor window.

"He was the only tourist injured. He jumped from his room, maybe he was afraid," said William Vea, the night receptionist at the Pacific Royale Hotel.

Radio Australia journalist Bruce Hill said from Nuku'Alofa that locals told him they had never experienced an earthquake of such intensity.

"Honestly, it was like being on a ship at sea in a heavy storm. The whole building was rocking back and forth and I was really quite scared and a lot of people don't mind admitting they're really quite afraid," he said.

Once they assessed the damage was minimal, the Tongans went back to bed while in Gisborne, on New Zealand's east coast, residents were packing what they could in the middle of the night and heading for higher ground.

Russell Beazley, a worker at a 24-hour petrol station, said it was inundated with people loading up before heading out of town.

"It was pretty scary stuff looking at all the locals come in, and they were all frightened and grabbing all the supplies they could get," he said.

One woman, Kelly Cullen, said she and her husband drove their children towards the nearest hill but, hearing it was too crowded, they kept driving.

"I'm actually due to have a baby, so we thought we better be organised," she said.

New Zealand's Geological and Nuclear Sciences department said the earthquake was felt in much of the North Island of New Zealand.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially called on New Zealand and Fiji to take immediate action against a possible giant wave, but New Zealand Civil defence officials said it was evident within 30 minutes there would be no significant tsunami.

In Fiji, police went around villages in low-lying areas and advised residents to move to higher ground, while tourists in resorts were told to stay on higher floors where possible.

Fiji police spokeswoman Sylvia Low said a police alert had been relaxed but caution was still advised in coastal areas.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center oceanograher Nathan Becker said swells of only half-a-metre (two feet) were to be expected.

On December 26, 2004 an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck off the Indonesian province of Aceh, unleashing a tsunami that killed 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean, most in Aceh.

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