WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - A strong magnitude 6.0 quake struck in the ocean off Western Samoa, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Wednesday, less than two weeks after the Pacific islands were hit by a series of tsunamis sparked by a powerful 8.0 earthquake.

The USGS said the quake struck at 6 a.m. on Thursday local time (1800 GMT on Wednesday) and was only 6.2 miles (10 km) deep. It was centered 227 miles (365 km) west of Apia in Western Samoa.

(Reporting by Sandra Maler, Editing by Frances Kerry)

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