A powerful, shallow underwater earthquake struck on Friday near Tonga in the southern Pacific, prompting authorities to issue and then lift a tsunami advisory.

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.3 quake was centered 211km east-southeast of Neiafu, Tonga, at a depth of 24.8km. It predicted strong shaking but said the probability of serious damage or casualties was small.

The US Tsunami Warning System issued and later lifted a tsunami advisory, which is one step below a tsunami warning. An undersea volcano erupted in Tonga in January, killing three people, blanketing its main island with a thick layer of volcanic ash and shooting millions of tons of water vapour high up into the atmosphere.

The government of Tonga issued a tsunami warning on Friday after an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck in the sea around 20m from the capital. The earthquake was at a depth of 24.8km that struck in the sea at about 207km east of southeast of Neiafu, according to the US Geological Survey.

A tsunami advisory was also issued for American Samoa, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Hazardous tsunami waves from the earthquake are possible within 300 km of the epicentre.