TBILISI, September 8 (RIA Novosti) -A powerful earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale struck northern Georgia early on Tuesday, a local meteorology center official said.

“The Oni region suffered the most. There was some destruction, but no reports of casualties,” a Georgian environment official told RIA Novosti

The official said the magnitude of the shock in the capital, Tbilisi, was 4.0. No casualties were reported.

People across Georgia were reported to have been woken up by the tremors, with many of them rushing out of their homes into the streets.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured 6.2 and that its epicenter was 156 kilometers (97 miles) northwest of Tbilisi and 80 km (50 miles).

The Emergencies Ministry of the neighboring, former Georgian republic of South Ossetia also reported tremors of about 5.5 in magnitude, saying the capital Tskhinvali suffered a short blackout as a result. Again, there were no reports of casualties.